Southern Hospitality
by Samantha14
Summary: Finally settling into life in Atlanta while she works at CNN Headquarters, Rory runs into someone she never expected to find down here. Literati. Completed.
1. Oh, Look Who It Is!

Title: Southern Hospitality

Chapter 1: Oh, Look Who It Is! 

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters you recognize. I _do _own the characters you don't recognize, except for maybe people that I'm talking about who are real and you just don't recognize. Anywho.

A/N: I'm a masochist, apparently, because here I go, my fourth story—under this name alone—that has slapped me in the forehead so that I must begin typing it at four in the morning. Thanks to curlymonic1215 who suggested this idea to me in a roundabout way. 

Now, I don't live full-time in Atlanta, but it's my second home, and I live there part of the year, and it's a great place, so this whole thing will be a little Atlanta friendly. 

Every chapter will be in a different perspective. Hopefully there will be more than two, if I'm lucky and smart and good at this story.  

This is a very in depth summary, cause it was originally intended as part of the story, but I decided it sucked in the grand scheme of things, so it's going here.

**In depth summary of Rory's life up to this point**: Rory Gilmore, upon graduating from Yale at the age of twenty-two, class of 2007, had accepted a position to work on the news floor at CNN headquarters in Atlanta. That basically meant that her day was spent reading the latest news on the wires and typing it up for the on-air reporters to read…well, on the air. She'd started her job on July the fourth, and never had a normal sleeping schedule again. Sometimes she'd take a midnight to eight shift, and she'd be incredibly busy, or she'd take a two a.m. to ten a.m. shift, and spend her time catching up on her correspondence. The best part of her job, though, was the fact that she was learning to expect the unexpected, while learning about a city she'd never visited before.

Days within moving to Atlanta, she'd already toured the World of Coke and the Underground, near Peachtree Street, one of the busiest parts of downtown, and the most tourist-filled. After a week, she'd discovered that on the Marta train was the fastest way to travel, and the Marta bus went more places. After a month, she'd become a "friend" of the Fox Theater, with season tickets to any and all performances coming over the next year. She'd seen "Billy Elliot", "Purple Rain", and "Some Like It Hot" over the course of two weeks, followed closely by a Broadway-worthy production of "West Side Story". She went to the last "Screen on the Green" of the summer in Piedmont Park, and had seen "Viva Las Vegas", complete with two women dressed as Elvis and Ann Margaret, who had gotten to meet the mayor of Atlanta and proclaimed that it was the Elvis woman's birthday.

In other words, by September 2008, she was proud to call herself a resident in Atlanta, and she'd even taken a liking to sweet tea, although nothing could ever replace coffee.__

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Rory_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

"Still here, Gilmore?" 

I don't look up from my computer at the voice, just grin. 

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Davis, but I'm definitely not free for lunch today."

"Ah, come on." Eric pulls Christa's chair from her desk and straddles it next to mine. "It's after eleven. Your eight hours were up three hours ago."

"And you've still got three to go," I remind him, avoiding eye contact as I grab a file from next to his leg. His very muscular leg, clothed only in thin cotton….

Shaking that practically adulterous thought from my mind, I open the folder and start reading the report from a week ago frantically and then, suddenly, stop.

It's _not_ adulterous for me to think of Eric like that. I mean, he's not married. I'm not married. He's not seeing anyone. Lord knows I'm not seeing anyone. So why can't I go out with Eric? Sure, we work together, but it's not the kind of work where you're sure to see the same person two days in a row, unless you go out of your way to see them. 

"Okay," I say, dropping the folder near my keyboard and saving everything. He stands up suddenly, surprised, I'm sure, by my sudden change in attitude. 

"What'd you say?"

"I said 'okay'." I grin at the shocked look on his face. "I would love to have lunch with you, Davis." I double-check that everything on the computer is saved, and then stand up, also. 

"Seriously, Gilmore?"

"Seriously."

"Wow. This is a milestone. Are you sure you're not a pod person?" 

"Who, me?" I ask, putting a hand on my chest and feigning shock. "Why, Davis, I'm surprised you'd ever ask. Don't I _seem_ normal?"

"Well, yeah, but see—that's the trick of the pod people." He grins as we start from the bustling news floor to the food court thick with tourists. 

"Ah. See, I never knew that. _You_ must be a pod person."

He grins.

"What, no comeback?"

"Nope, too busy thinking about food."

"I should have known." I shake my head slightly.

"What, like you weren't? So…whaddya think? Food court, Underground, or an actual restaurant, hopefully not crawling with tourists?"

"I'll take the third door. I think I'm starting to have my fill of tourists." 

"And only after, what, four years?"

"Fourteen _months_," I correct, knowing full well that he knew that. 

"I know," he grins. I roll my eyes at him as we exit the building and make our way to his car.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're an odd person, Gilmore." Eric shakes his head. I've just told him about the time my mother had visited the CNN offices and, after the VIP tour, she insisted I make a video in the gift shop with her. We were supposed to read the news, like a news team, but Mom insisted on singing all of her stories, and I couldn't read mine, I was laughing so hard, and then Mom had sent the tape into MTV as our audition for _The Real World: 26 gazillion_ or some odd number. 

"It's completely true!" I laugh and lean across the table to tear off a piece of his breadstick. "My mother and I do stuff like that all the time." 

He raises his eyebrows as I eat his breadstick. "And did MTV pick you?"

"Well, no. But, we were finalists. They even showed us on MTV."

"I'd pay to see that."

"I've got a tape of it at home. You could come see it sometime."

He grins, and I blush, realizing the implication of my words. "I'd like that."

"I…I would, too." I smile at him, and he smiles back. "So…any embarrassing familial stories _you'd_ like to share, Davis?"

"Um, there was this one Thanksgiving right after my oldest sister got married. See, my father and brother-in-law didn't get along, and my mom got the bright idea to have our dinner in a public place, so, since my family is huge, and holidays are incredibly important in our family, we rented out a room at the Fox."

"Love that place," I gush. He grins.

"Me, too. So, we rented out one of the huge ballrooms. I mean, _huge_. It rivaled my sister's wedding reception hall. And there was this show at the Fox. 'Chorus Line', I think. So the management told us not to be too loud. We couldn't hire a band, basically. That was fine with us, cause it was Thanksgiving, and who hires a band at Thanksgiving?"

He pauses to look at me. "Then what happened?" I prompt.

He shrugs. "The obvious. My dad and brother-in-law got into this huge fight, the likes of which are unknown, and most of the males in the family took their sides, and then the females took _their_ sides, and 'A Chorus Line' was ruined for thousands of Thanksgiving theater owners."

"And what side did you take in this huge fight?" I smile.

He smiles back. "I took my nephew and niece by the hands and we went outside."

"Sweet!"

"Thanks. It took my sister an hour to find us, though."

"Where were you?"

He shrugs. "Just outside. The big enclosed entranceway."

"Ah. And, how many sisters do you have?"

He mentally counts. "Eight. But, two are in-laws, one's a soon-to-be-in-law, and one's a 'partner' of another."

"Oh. A 'partner'. Seriously?"

"Yep." He nods.

"So, you've got two married brothers, one engaged brother, a gay sister, at least one married sister, and then two other sisters."

"Both of my other sisters are married."

"You're the bachelor?"

"I'm the baby."

"Mama's boy?" I tease.

He laughs. "I'm not a _big_ Mama's boy. I try to have dinner with my parents once a week, and we spend holidays together."

"That's nice." I smile. "I wish I saw my mother more, but she lives in Connecticut."

"And what does she do that far away?" To reciprocate for my earlier act of theft, Eric leans over the table and grabs my whole breadstick. 

"Hey!"

"Food theft rules," he says matter-of-factly. "But please, continue."

I grin. "She owns an Inn with her best friend, and she's getting married in December."

"Outdoor wedding?" he asks, most likely joking.

I roll my eyes. "Probably. She's got this insane thing for snow. Loves it, can smell it the day before it happens. She says that all good things in her life happened to her when it snowed."

"Crazy." 

"Exactly."

"So, do you like new Daddy?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean, my dad was always a once-a-week father, and this guy…. Luke was always a father figure to me. And he and my mom have a two-year-old, Susanna. Named after the lead singer of the Bangles after Mom found out that Luke plays the guitar. And well. She's hoping that her second daughter will be the one she can make the girl band with." 

"Your only sibling?" Eric raises his eyes at me over the water glass he's lifting to his lips. To wash down my stolen breadstick, no doubt.

"No. I've got another half-sister, Georgia, my dad's daughter. I hardly see her, though. I hardly see _him_," I add as an afterthought. Eric waits a respectable amount of time before clearing his throat and knocking me out of my 'woe-is-me-cause-my-dad-is-a-deadbeat' stupor. 

"Shall we go get dessert? I know this great little place in Little Five Points."

I grin. "Absolutely."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Eric insisted on walking me to the Marta. _Insisted_. Sweet! He gave me a small, respectable good-afternoon kiss on the lips, and then hurried off to head back to work. I grinned after him. 

Just think. After over a year of harmless office flirting, I'd finally gotten over my last work-related romance hang up and agreed to lunch. And I'd had a wonderful time! We'd gone to this dark little Italian restaurant and eaten breadsticks before and after lunch before he drove me out of downtown and to this tiny little bakery café thing in Little Five Points, and we ate some more and laughed and then he walked me to the train and kissed me goodbye and now here I am, sitting in one of these incredibly ugly orange seats, my laptop and work on the seat next to me, my head thrown back onto the wall off the train, my eyes poring over this advertisement for a Spanish injury lawyer, and this is an incredibly long run-on sentence. 

I laugh at myself and sit up, bringing my gaze back down to normal level. My gaze catches two little brown eyes peering from the crook of an arm. I smile. She smiles back, and then moves the arm so that she can see me more plainly. The person attached to the arm makes a little noise of surprise.

"Brett! I was reading. You made me lose my place." The voice is familiar, but I can't place it. 

"I want to see _her_," Brett points to me, and then owner of the voice follows her arm with his eyes and looks at me. I look at him, too.

And almost fall from my chair in shock.


	2. Oh, God, It's Her

Title: Southern Hospitality 

Chapter 2: Oh, God, It's Her

Disclaimer: I don't own the people you recognize. And one person you might not recognize. I stole her name from a spoiler that means _nothing_ now. _NOTHING!_ …Sorry, I'm still a little touchy about the whole no-spin-off thing. They ruined him for nothing! He's been an asshole for the past, like, four months, and they ruined him, and now he can't come back cause he ruined everything with Rory!! God!!!

A/N: Okay, sorry about the outburst. But, this story is a Lit, yes. This chapter is the same day that Rory just had, except from Jess' point of view. Brett will be explained here. And I don't want anyone to tell me that the four-year-old is out of character. She's based on my sister, who's four, so I figure I've got a pretty good idea what a four-year-old acts like. Of course, she's also got some Jess in her. Anyway, the in-depth summary will be in a paragraph or so, but first let me explain about Brett's mom. 

I read a spoiler a _very _long time ago that talked about Jess running into these skaters, and one of them was Ivy—I seem to remember the last name Johnson, but I probably made that up—and that during the show Jess and Ivy were going to become kinda-friends. So that's who Ivy is. The in-depth summary this time is from Jess' perspective, because it was once again in the story, but was crappy there, so it's in the A/N!

**In-depth summary of Jess' life and his kid's life and why they're in the South**: Ivy Johnson was this utterly annoying skater girl I met in Venice Beach when I lived with my father. We were never really in love, but one day…I guess we were bored, and we had sex. We both realized it was a mistake the second it was over, but unfortunately, it's one of those long-lasting mistakes. Not that I don't love Brett. I do, I just…wish she'd been born under different circumstances. Ivy, not one for responsibility, split en route from the hospital. Haven't seen her since. After talking it over for way too long, my father's girlfriend sent me to her dead mother's empty house in Atlanta, and Jimmy set me up with a job in a bookstore with an old friend of his, from when he'd lived there.

Catherine Brett Mariano, so named after the two female leads in Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms and The Sun Also Rises, and I have lived in Atlanta since the day after her first birthday, May 5, 2005. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jess 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

"Shit!" I exclaim, hanging up the phone. I edge my way out of the small office and into the bookstore. "Alice?" I call, walking from behind the counter into the stacks. She sighs as soon as she sees my face.

"Fine, go."

"Thanks," I start to leave, but stop when she calls me back.

"I know she's feisty, but you need to find someone who can keep her so you can work from eight till three."

"I know."

"Eight till three's not that long to ask."

"I know. Have I thanked you for this yet today?"

She half-smiles. "Not yet."

"Well, thank you." I turn and start to leave again, but Alice once again calls me back.

"If worse comes to worse, bring her here."

"We'll see." I wait a second, to see if she has anything else to say, and then run from the bookstore to the train.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Daddy!" she calls the second I open the door, running into my legs. Catie glares at me from the block corner, and then stands and walks over to us.

"I'm doing you a favor, Jess," she hisses, trying to smile at a little boy who is staring at her.

"I know," I sigh.

"I know her mother ran out, and believe me, knowing Ivy, it was gonna happen sooner or later, but I can't handle Brett and her attitude against the other children!" Catie turns her glare to my four-year-old daughter, and I lower a hand to Brett's back, as if to protect her from the bitchy woman's stare of ice. 

"I'll look into some of my other options tomorrow."

"Sooner if you can, Jess! I can't handle her one more day!" Catie glances around at the little children and then leans closer to me. "She _hit another __child for a _book_ today!"_

I suppress a smile at the way she whispers the news, as if it's sure to cause the world to end. Then I realize the weight of the words and glance down at Brett, who is now behind me, sticking her tongue out at a girl through my legs.

Catie crosses her arms across her chest and starts tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for me to acknowledge the weight of her former comment.

"Uh…for a book, huh?" I resist the urge to say 'that's my girl', and instead just shake my head. "Anyway, we've got to be going."

"I mean it, Jess!" Catie hisses after me once more, and then promptly returns to being the happy teacher once again. I close the door behind me, and pry Brett from my legs.

"A book, huh?" I ask, swinging her through the air and throwing her onto my back. She squeals, and hangs onto my neck with both hands. I lift my hands under her tiny bottom and hold her. "Why are you hitting?"

"It was my book from the other day."

"That doesn't make it right, Brett."

"Yes it does!"

Knowing that she wants to cross her arms and stamp her feet and pout at me, I swing her back down and set her on the floor. She immediately acts out her inner brat, and as she glares at me, I see a flash of her mother. I sigh and place a hand behind her head, leading her to the exit. 

"What do you want for lunch?"

She falls out of her pose long enough to jump up and down and proclaim the wonders of ice cream.

"No ice cream for lunch."

She returns to her brat face, and I just shake my head and gently push her head to get her walking.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm back, Alice," I call wearily an hour and a half later, walking back into the bookstore with Brett, covered in ice cream. I finally convinced her to have a sandwich, but she only agreed after I promised her ice cream.

Alice wanders from one of the back stacks, and starts when she sees Brett. "Oh, my! Someone's a little messy!"

Brett nods proudly, claps her hands together, and jumps up and down, her tongue snaking from her mouth to lick the last remains from her cheek. 

"Come on. We'll get you cleaned up, and then we can set you up on the reading chair with a stack of books." Alice leads my daughter away.

"This tall?" Brett asks, holding her hands as far apart as her four-year-old arms will let her. 

"Yeah, and maybe even bigger!" 

"Yay!" Brett jumps up and down again, all the way to the bathroom sink, only pausing to stick her tongue out at me once. I reciprocate, and then collapse into the plastic chair behind the counter. Brett has always been a handful, just like her mother. 

"Excuse me?" a nasal female voice asks, and I stand up, ready to comply with the customer's needs.

"Yep."

"Oh, I didn't think anyone was here." 

"I have a four-year-old." It's my ready-made excuse, especially with women, whenever I seem worn out. And it's the truth. "And she's a handful."

"Ah," she nods. "I remember when my sister was four. Horrible."

"Yep. So, whaddya need?"

"Oh, I'm looking for that book about that movie…you know…the one with Ben Affleck…." She trails off, and I guess I'm supposed to deduce what movie and book this is by her saying, 'you know, that movie with Ben Affleck….' I haven't seen a movie that wasn't made by Nickelodeon, Disney, or Pixar since 2004. 

"Check the back section." I point, and she nods and hurries off. I collapse back into the plastic chair and close my eyes for a second. I'm interrupted from my moment of peace seconds later when a little body slams onto my stomach. "Oof!"

Brett giggles. "You made a funny noise."

"I always make that funny noise when you jump on top of me." I move her from her spot kneeling on my stomach and wheel her around so she's sitting on my lap. Alice smiles at us, and then clears her throat and becomes the boss again.

"I'm not paying you to sit around, you know."

"I know," I groan. "Go look at some books." I lower Brett to the floor and stand up. She resumes her brat pose, this time with her hands on her hips.

"I can read, you know!"

"I know. Go read, then." 

She scampers off, Alice not far behind her, and I pick up a box from behind the desk and move to the stacks to start shelving them. Alice's idea of good reading music, The Ramones, plays in the background. We've had a few complaints about the nature of the music, but Alice and I don't understand, because we can read just fine. Whenever people complain, we either offer to turn it down a little bit, or remove the stick from their ass so they can sit more comfortably, in the hopes that if they sit comfortably, they'll like the music. People usually storm out after the second comment, but they always find their way back, mainly because we've got an eclectic collection that rivals most libraries in this little bookstore.

"She's a handful," is the first thing Alice murmurs to me when she reaches me.

I snort. "Don't I know it."

She gazes at me, sort of proud. "You know, if I didn't know for a fact you were Jimmy's son, and at 23 years of age, I wouldn't believe it." She shakes her head, and starts shelving books with me. "Jimmy was nowhere near as responsible at 35 then you are now."

"I'll take that as a compliment." 

"Believe me, it is. Not that I don't like Jimmy—I love him like a brother—but he's not the most reliable."

"He's gotten better," I say, almost defensively.

"I know," she says, matter-of-factly. "I guess I'm just saying that I'm proud of you. I look on that little girl like a granddaughter—"

"You're not old—"

"Oh, shush." She interrupts my interrupting. "I am too, and you know it. I'm ten years Jimmy's senior, and thirty years yours. But as I was saying—that little girl's like a granddaughter to me, and you're doing a wonderful job of raising her."

I open my mouth to protest, to mention all the things that have been getting worse lately—but she holds up a hand to stop me.

"Even if she does wake up in the middle of the night, even if she does get in trouble in school, you're still a big part of her growing up." The bell at the front desk dings, and she starts to walk away. "Good job."

She disappears from my line of view, and I stare, shocked, at the newly shelved books. What just happened? What was that little outburst of emotion? Suddenly the date hits me, and I realize why she's emotional. It's the anniversary of the day her son ran off, and it's been seven years since she's seen him. She must see _me_ as a son. 

I shudder. I can't think about another person that I can't disappoint. The weight on my shoulders is already almost too much for me to bear.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Whee! Whee!" Brett calls as I try to get her to stand up and walk up the stairs. I'm holding one of her arms with both of mine, and she's deliberately swinging around. 

"Brett!" I scold. She ignores me and continues swinging. "Catherine Brett!" 

She stops and lets go, sprawling on the step below me. "I don't like that name."

"I know. That's why I used it. Come on, we're gonna miss the train!"

She's sitting on the step now, her arms folded across her chest. "I don't _wanna_ go!" 

I sigh, and lean down to scoop her up. She wiggles against my arms, but at least she's not screaming, and I manage to seat her next to me on the train, then hold my arm in front of her, preventing her from moving. She huffs and crosses her arms again. I pull a book from my back pocket and start reading, ignoring the little huffing sounds from my left side. After about three stops, the huffing stops, and then she moves my arm from in front of her to behind her.

"Brett! I was reading. You made me lose my place." 

"I want to see _her_," she points, and I follow her arm with my eyes. Oh, God. It's her.


	3. Toddlers

Title: Southern Hospitality 

Chapter 3: Toddlers

Disclaimer: I only own Susanna and Brett. Both are so cute! Like you wouldn't believe! See, Brett's the spitting image of her father, cause Ivy was all fair, so Jess' genes were dominant, so Brett's got dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. Susanna's parents have the same coloring (has anyone else noticed that?) so her hair's chestnut brown and her eyes are the same blue of Lorelai and Rory. Luke's got blue eyes, but they're not like Lorelai and Rory's.

A/N: Yeah, I'm still on the Luke/Scott Patterson/guitar thing. That's so cool! I never would have expected that. The whole run-on sentence in the first chapter? I noticed that and put it in there, but Rory thought it, too, and that's why she laughs. Thanks to everyone's reviews, and yay! People like the South thing!! Special thanks to Manda and Mandy (hee, hee, that's so funny) who never cease to make my day with endless compliments.

This chapter is a Lorelai chapter, and the same day as the other two chapters. I will expand through the Rory/Jess views in the next few chapters, and get away from the whole 'that's go back through the day over and over and over through different perspectives!' 'Cause that's kind of _Groundhog Day_, except…not.

Anywho. Lorelai doesn't have her own in-depth summary 'cause she did a good job of summing it all up herself. I like the picture of Luke as a softie, by the way. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Lorelai 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Parenthood is so much easier with two people. 

Seriously. And the second kid's easier than the first. Of course, I might be a little off on that point, cause now I'm parenting with a partner. 

_Partner_. It seems so weird to call Luke that. I mean, we've been friends for years…and we've been a couple for three years…and co-parents for two years. Fiancées for a little over a year. 

He sings to Susanna, our little girl. When she can't sleep, he sings "Oh, Susanna". It's the sweetest little thing in the world, how much he loves his little girl. And he never calls her anything but Susanna. I call her Q, because of that old song, "Susie Q". But he always calls her Susanna. 

I am shocked from my thoughts by the ringing of the phone, and I pull my gaze from my toddler playing with blocks on the lobby floor and answer the phone.

"Hello, Dragonfly Inn, Lorelai speaking."

"It's half-past twelve." Luke says.

"Why, thank you. Now what's the temperature?"

"Lorelai."

"Luke."

"Are you bringing Susanna over here soon?"

"Yes, soon. It's almost your half of the day."

"I know."

"I expect lunch when I drop her off."

"Is it ever different?"

"Nope." I grin. "We'll be over there soon."

"Leaving now?"

"Leaving now."

"Okay."

"Love you."

"I…I love you too." He says the last four words in a whisper, and I can tell he's shielding his mouth from his diner goers, even though they've figured out that we love each other. We've been living together for two years. 

"Bye." I laugh at him, slightly, and hang up. "Hey, Q!" I walk over to my toddler and pick her up. "Wanna go see Daddy?" I ask, settling her on my hip.

"Daddy!" 

"Right, Daddy!" I carry Q to the kitchen to tell Sookie I'm going to drop her off, and then we head to the diner. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

We've become adept at splitting our toddler time up between us. Every other day, I get her in the mornings, and Luke gets her in the afternoons, and then vice-versa. After six, I usually swing by the diner for a few hours, and then by eight she's usually sacked out in the office upstairs, and we all head home. 

Today's a Mommy-then-Daddy day. I like M-then-D days, because that means Luke gets her during her naptime, which is usually around one or two. 

"Susanna!" His face lights up as we walk into the diner, and he shoves the coffeepot at Kirk and walks over to us. "Hey, there." He lifts her from my arms and carries her behind the counter, and the sits her on it with her back facing me as I sit on a stool. He then leans over and kisses me quickly.

"How was work?" he asks, hurrying to grab the coffeepot from Kirk again.

"Hectic. Here?"

"Worse." He shakes his head as he pours me coffee.

"Worse? And how do you know that yours is worse than mine?"

"There's some weird-ass convention in town, and they're all eating here."

"Mm-hmm. And where are they staying?"

"Oh, fine, you win." He throws his hands up in defeat and tries to rush by me to take someone's order. I grab his arm and pull him to me for a kiss.

"I'll take a cheeseburger and some fries," I grin when we part.

"You're gonna die," he warns, his forehead still leaning against mine.

"Nuh-uh. You keep me young." 

He smiles, pecks me again, and heads off to work some more. I pull Q so she's sitting on the outer edge of the counter and turn her to face me. 

"Hi," she says. She looks a little mischievous, and a half-smile comes to my face of its own free will. 

"And what did you do?"

She shrugs and looks off into the corner, swinging her legs against the counter. My half-smile grows into a full one, and I walk around the edge of the counter, keeping one hand on her leg. There's a cardboard box full of napkins on the floor, lying on top of a small mound of sugar. I grin and pull Q back around so she's sitting on the inner edge of the counter again. 

"Q. Again?" 

She clamps her hands together and gives me her angelic face. I laugh.

"You know, that might work on Daddy, but it won't work on me."

"Yeah." 

"Yeah." I keep one hand on her leg and lean down to pick up the napkins.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The telephone shocks me from my thoughts for the second time today. After registering that I am, in fact, at work, and not at home cuddled in front of a movie with Luke and Q like I want to be, I answer it.

"Dragonfly Inn." 

"Mom." Rory sounds tired. 

"Hey, sweets. How long since you slept?"

"Huh? Oh, twenty-some odd hours. You'll never guess whose kitchen I'm sitting in."

"_Eric Davis asked you out!_" I yell, thrilled. A guest shoots me a dirty look and I lower my voice. "Did he?"

"Well, yeah." 

I start squealing—quietly, of course.

"Mom, Mom, Mom!" Rory yells. "That's not whose kitchen in which I am sitting." 

"Oh, stop with the English lessons and tell me about Eric."

"What about the kitchen?" She yells again. "This is kind of a big deal."

"Who is it, Ted Turner?"

Rory sighs. "No, not Ted Turner. It's…um…Jess."

"Mariano?" I shout.

"Yeah," she says, almost sheepishly.

"Jess Mariano. His kitchen." 

"Yeah."

"In Atlanta?"

"Well…yeah."

Suddenly there's a sound of rustling on the other side of the phone, and I can hear a male voice—I'm guessing Jess—yell in the background, "Brett! Leave her alone!"

"Oh, Jess, let her." I can hear Rory's voice, but she sounds a little far away.

"Hi," a little voice breathes into the phone. 

"Hi. Who's this?" I put on my sweet voice, the one I use to deal with toddlers. 

"Brett." 

"Okay, Brett, can you put Rory on the phone?"

Brett doesn't answer me, just talks to Rory into the mouthpiece of the phone. "Are you Wory?"

There's another rustling, and then Rory's back. "Hi again. Sorry."

"Who was that?" 

"Brett."

"Thanks," I say sarcastically. "That much I gathered. Who's Brett?"

"Uh…." There's a pause. It sounds like Rory covers the mouthpiece with her hand and says something to Jess. "Sorry, Mom, I've gotta go. It's long distance, you know." 

"Rory, why'd you call?" 

"Um, I don't know. I'll talk to you soon, though. Love you." 

"Lo—" I start to say, but she's already slammed the phone down. I stare at the receiver. What the hell was that? Rory found Jess in Atlanta? There's a toddler—over two, though—in Jess' kitchen? And what does the toddler have to do with Jess? 

You know…I know someone who might have the answers to these questions.

So I pull a maid and give her front-desk duty before rushing back to the diner. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Luke! Luke!" I call as I storm through the diner door.

"Mama!" Q yells from a table where Clara Forester is coloring with her.

"Hi, Q. Clara, where's Luke?" 

She shrugs. 

"Okay, then, where's Robert?"

She immediately points behind me, directly to him, and I can tell she's been watching him. 

"Thanks." I give Q a quick kiss on the forehead and walk over to Robert, one of the four teenagers employed by Luke on a part-time basis. "Rob, where's Luke?"

"Upstairs," he says immediately, clearing a table off. "But he doesn't want to be disturbed."

"He'll want to be disturbed by me," I say sweetly, before turning and stomping quickly up the stairs. "Luke!" I call, bursting into the apartment/office. He jumps up from the kitchen table where he was talking on the phone.

"Illtalktoyoulaterbye," he says in one breath, before swiftly hanging up. "Lorelai!" He smiles a little too widely.

"Luke. I have a few bones to pick with you."

"Oh, you found out." His face falls.

"I might have." I say coldly. "First of all, I want to know who the hell was on the phone." 

"Uh, Jess," he forces out.

"Oh! Jess." I say knowingly. "And would _Rory_ happen to be in his _kitchen_ in _Atlanta_?" I yell.

"Okay, I wanted to tell you, but he wouldn't let me. He didn't wanna talk about her."

"And how long has he been in _Atlanta_?"

"Uh," he stares at the floor, "three years."

"What? And you haven't _told me_?"

"I _wanted _to!" He yells again. "He wouldn't let me!"

"Ugh." I stamp my foot on the floor. Luke's good enough to keep his promise to Jess, and I can't begrudge him that. "Fine. Who's _Brett_?"

Luke's mouth makes a surprised 'O', and his gaze darts from the floor, to the wall behind me, to the table, and then finally I walk up to him and grab his face with both of my hands, forcing him to look at me. 

"Who's Brett?" I ask a little softer, because once his gaze darts like that, you have to talk softly, because yelling helps you no longer. 

"Jess'…daughter."

I let go of Luke's face, and take a step back, my own gaze on the floor. "Daughter." 

"Yeah."

"Oh. Okay." I nod. I seem like I'm in control, but my insides are flopping all over the place. "I…have to go call Rory." I turn from the room and bolt down the stairs. 


	4. Home

Title: Southern Hospitality 

Chapter 4: Home

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except, you know, the storyline. And Brett. And Jess as a good daddy.

A/N: I call carbonated beverages Cokes. It's like, "You want a Coke?" Of course, they do it worse in Atlanta, cause that's *dramatic voice* "THE LAND OF COKE!!

Anywho.

So, Tropical Storm Bill hit the other day. Rain, wind, no power, so no computer. One reason why this is late. Friday my mom found _orphaned_ little kitties at her work. We've been taking care of them since. _Orphaned!!_ Less than two weeks old!! 

So, that's another reason this is late. But it's not _that _late, so just be nice and happy and review. 

Thank you much.

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Jess_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

And that, ladies and gentlemen, would be my very last ex-girlfriend. 

Brett wiggles in my arm, and then finally slides down from the seat and pads over to Rory.

"Hi."

"Hi," she responds, looking at me. __

_'Look at my kid! Talk to my kid! Ignore me!'_ I want to yell, but don't. Instead, I say "Hi" right back, like it's no big deal to see Rory Gilmore again. 

And it's not, really. I mean, things were over five years ago. Actually, to be exact, five years and five months….

No. I refuse to do this. It's just Rory. She's just an ex-girlfriend. Ex-girlfriends have never been trouble before. Still, the last conversation—one-sided—we had together keeps ringing in my head…"I think I may have loved you", she said. Does she still feel that way?

NO! No! No. Okay. I'm calm.

"So, uh…how are you?" she asks, still looking at me. Brett, bored with her, pads back over to me and slides onto my lap. As she picks up my book and starts to "read" it upside down, I answer Rory.

"I'm here. You?"

"Yeah, yeah, me too. Uh, what are you doing here?"

"On the train, or in Atlanta?"

"Jess," she says softly.

"Right. We live here."

"'We'?"

I gesture to Brett, who leans back into me. I rest my chin on the top of her head, and she flips a page in On The Road.

"Only you two?" Rory asks, almost hopefully. Nope, not hopefully. No hopefulness there. 

God, no sex in five years has got me seeing feelings where there aren't any. I nod in response to her question. 

"What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"What are you doing on the train?"

"Going home."

From…? I prompt silently. 

"I work at CNN," she answers my silent question. We always could speak without words. 

"Ah."

"Yeah."

We both stare at each other for a few more minutes, and then look up gratefully as the train pulls into the next station. Not looking at her, not looking at her, not looking at her, I stand up, twisting Brett around so that she's resting on my hip and not my lap, and then pick up the bag of books Alice is letting her take home today. She spoils my daughter too much. 

I stand at the door next to my seat, waiting for it to open, and then throw a glance behind me. Rory's standing at the other door. 

"Is this your stop?" I ask suddenly. She jumps. 

"Oh. Yeah." She notices I'm standing. "Yours too?"

"Yep." 

She nods, and we share another awkward moment, before facing each of our doors. They slide open, and then I look back, one more time. 

"Rory!" I call. It's the first time I've spoken her name since before I left Stars Hollow, what seems like a lifetime ago. She spins around as I adjust Brett on my hip. "You wanna come over for a little while? Catch up?"

She hesitates, and then nods, and runs through the car and makes it out on my side seconds before the doors close.

"Close one."

"Yep," she double-meanings, and grins. I angle my head toward the stairs, and we start walking. 

"Let me take that bag." She tries to grab the book bag that's dangling from my hand.

"No!" Brett yells, swatting at her. "My books!"

"Brett." I say harshly. "No hitting." 

She sighs, heavily, as if I'm doing her some great injustice. I once again decide that I'm going to tape her mouth together for every single one of her years from thirteen to eighteen, at which point I will kick her from my home. 

"Sorry," I apologize.

"Oh, it's no problem," Rory grins. "I think it's cute."

"Yeah, _you_ don't put up with it practically 24/7." 

Rory puts on her worried-but-I'm-not-showing-it-nope!-never-show-the-insecureness face. 

"What?" I ask, somewhat harshly.

"Nothing, I just…where's her mom?"

I shrug, and then groan and lower Brett to the ground. She makes some noises of protest, but I just firmly grab her hand and start steering her from the Marta station. 

"Which way?" Rory asks as we reach the street.

"Left," I say, and point. She nods and follows me.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"And then, he ate a leaf, and he started to feel better." Brett says proudly to Rory, before lifting her feet from the ground and hanging onto my hand with both arms. "And then, he spun a coon, and when he came out, he was a butterfwy!"

"Wow," Rory says appreciatively. "Is that your favorite book?"

Brett drops onto the ground and faces Rory with both of her hands on her hips. "No," she says matter-of-factly, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Oh. Then what's your favorite book?"

"I've got two!" She holds up two fingers. I spin her around and press her back gently.

"Let's keep moving."

She sticks her tongue out at me, but walks. "My favowite books are A Farewuh Arms and Sunrises." She ticks them off on her fingers, and then looks back at Rory, who is looking at me. 

"Translation?"

"A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises."

"That's what I _said_!" Brett exclaims, hitting her forehead with the heel of her hand.

"Hemingway, huh?" Rory asks, still gazing at me.

I shrug. "She's named after the heroines."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Catherine Brett."

"Ah." 

"We're here." I announce, stopping on the sidewalk in front of our house.

"Wow." Rory says from beside me.

"It's nothing," I shrug, allowing myself to be pulled to the door by Brett. 

"It's…nice," Rory says lamely, stepping onto the porch behind us.

"Hurry _up_!" Brett stomps her foot and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Hold on, I'm trying to find the key," I say, digging through the bag of books.

"Find it _faster_!" She stomps her foot again.

"Hey!" I say harshly, stopping. "Bed at seven-thirty tonight if you stomp one more time."

"But _Rugrats_!" she whines.

"I know."

She makes a face, but stands there silently, waiting for me to find the key. I eventually come up with it, and push the door open. Brett rushes into the house and heads straight upstairs. 

"Come on in," I tell Rory, standing to the side so she can walk in. She does, almost reverently, and stares at the large ceiling overhead, and the twisty staircase in the middle of the large foyer. "You want something to drink?" I ask, dropping the bag of books near the door and the key into a small bowl on an end table before heading to the kitchen. 

"Caffeine," she pleads, following me. "I've been up since eleven last night."

"Coffee it is," I nod and start busying myself in the kitchen. She sits on a stool at the island, and watches as I rush around. As soon as the coffee's brewing, I call upstairs.

"Catherine Brett Mariano!! Snack?"

"Don't like that name!" she calls back.

"Do you want a snack or not?" I yell, exasperated.

"I wanna paint!"

"Down here!"

There's a pause, and then she stomps down the stairs. "I wanna paint," she pouts at me as she walks into the kitchen.

"Okay. You just need to do it down here." 

"Okay." Brett pads over to the kitchen table and climbs into a chair, waiting expectantly for her paints. I grab her smock and fix it over her clothes before getting out paper and finger-paints for her. She grins and starts her work.

"You're so good with her," Rory finally speaks, following me with her eyes as I walk back to the sink and start in on days-old dishes. 

"It's just been the two of us for three years."

"Right. Cause her mom…" Rory trails off, waiting for me to fill in. I sigh, throw the towel I'm drying off a dish with over my shoulder, and turn to face her. 

"Ivy disappeared in between the hospital and her house. Haven't seen her for four years. Brett and I lived with my dad for a year, and then my dad's girlfriend sent us here, her mom's house, and my dad set me up with a job." I turn back around to the sink and begin furiously scrubbing a pot. "And no, I didn't love Ivy. Is that enough of a life story for you?"

I don't look around, but Rory doesn't say anything. After about ten minutes, I'm halfway through the debris of last night's "let's try to cook for the whole week in one night!" fiasco when she clears her throat.

"Um, can I use your phone?" she asks.

"Sure," I nod, gesturing towards the phone mounted on the wall.

"Thanks," she smiles, and then walks over to it.

"Calling Lorelai?" I ask as she starts to dial. She just gives me a tight grin and sits down at the kitchen table. Brett walks over to me with her paint hands and holds them up proudly. 

"I love painting!" she announces.

"Believe me, I know." I wet a rag at the sink and lean down to wipe her up, listening to Rory's side of the conversation at the same time.

"Mom. Huh? Oh, twenty-some odd hours. You'll never guess whose kitchen I'm sitting in."

"Eric Davis asked you out!" I can hear Lorelai's tinny squeal through the phone. 

"Who the hell is this punk Eric Davis?" I mutter to Brett's left hand. She giggles.

"_You're_ a punk, Daddy." 

"Thank you, sweetheart." I smile at her, and then turn my attention back to Rory.

"Well, yeah." Yeah to what?

"Mom, Mom, Mom! That's not whose kitchen in which I am sitting!" I see the pretentious Yale-speak has drifted into her everyday language.

"What about the kitchen? This is kind of a big deal." She listens, and then sighs. "No, it's not Ted Turner." I smirk. That's actually funny. "It's…um…Jess." 

"Mariano?" I can hear Lorelai again. 

"Yeah." Sheepishly, she said that. Or am I just paranoid?

"Yeah."

"You're all finished," I tell Brett, and she walks off.

"Well, yeah," Rory says. I watch as Brett clambers onto her lap and grabs the phone.

"Brett! Leave her alone!" I yell in my best stern-father voice, but she's already got the phone on her ear.

"Oh, Jess, let her," Rory says softly. Well, now I _really_ have no choice.

"Hi," Brett breathes into the phone. How sweet she sounds. She's not. 

"Brett." Even for someone who can't pronounce 'r's, Brett's pronunciation of her name is perfect. 

She keeps the phone on her mouth as she looks up at Rory. "Are you Wory?" Rory glances at me, and I nod, so she pries the phone from Brett's fingers.

"Hi again. Sorry." 

Brett slides from Rory's lap and clambers over to me, where I'm squatting on the floor waiting for her. "What'd you do that for?" I ask.

She shrugs, and climbs onto my squatted legs, causing me to almost fall over, which causes her to giggle, and then _try_ to push me over.

"Uh…Jess. My mom wants to know who Brett is."

Ugh, Lorelai.  Her again? I've already seen her too much in the past few years, traveling all the way back to goddamn Stars Hollow just to see the birth of my little cousin. And I left Brett here, with Alice. I shake my head at Rory, who quickly gets off the phone.

"She's suspicious," she says of her mother as she settles back onto a stool at the island. Brett immediately runs from me and tries to climb up on Rory. Rory picks her up and settles her on the island, which I _never _let her do, but I don't feel like yelling right now, so I'll let it slide. 

"Goddammit. I'll call Luke. Warn him."

"Luke knows?" she asks, in this intrigued-mixed-with-disgusted voice. "And Mom doesn't?"

"Luke's met her. Luke understands. Lorelai won't." I say firmly, picking up the phone and dialing.

"How do you know Mom won't understand?"

I sigh. "She already hates me, Rory. And now she's going to be my aunt, related to me, and I don't want her to hate my daughter before she gets to know her."

"If you'd introduced them, Brett could play with Susie." 

I just shake my head as Luke answers his phone.

"Luke. Get upstairs, call me back."

"Bye."

He hangs up, and I hang up, and wait for the phone to ring again.

"Is that Uncle Luke?" Brett asks, swinging her feet back and forth from her spot on the island and kicking the wood underneath the countertop.

"Yep," I answer, walking over to her and putting her back on the ground. 

"Awwwww!" she complains, trying to climb back up. 

"No," I say firmly, answering the phone as it rings again. 

"Jess."

"Luke. Rory's here. She found out about Brett."

"Shit."

"I'm guessing you still haven't told the little missus?"

"Don't call her that. And no." 

"Be ready to sleep on the couch tonight."

"Lorelai knows?"

"Rory called her, and Brett stole the phone."

"She's good at that."

"I've noticed."

"Shit," he mutters again.

"Yep. I guess you have to tell her now."

"Yeah. I'll try to be tactful." 

"No offense, Luke, but you're not the best at—"

There is a huge bang on his end of the phone, and a very pissed off Lorelai yells, "Luke!"

"Illtalktoyoulaterbye," he mutters into the phone, before slamming it down. I stare at it, and then hang up.

"Your mom's gonna call you in about two minutes."

"Oh, good." Rory says sarcastically.

"Yup. Expect talk about me in Atlanta with a kid, and why didn't you tell her—along those lines."

"Right. Well, I guess I'll be getting home for that call."

"Okay." Suddenly I don't want her to leave. I'm being irrational here. It's just Rory. Right. Just Rory. Keep repeating that to yourself, over and over.

"I…here's my business card. Let's not go five years and five months without talking to each other again." She hands me a card, smiles, and then leaves. Brett waves goodbye to her, and then walks over to me and gives me a big hug around the legs.

"Do you wanna watch Barbie?"

"Yeah," I smile down at her, smoothing her dark brown hair down with one hand. "Let's go." 

She smiles, and grabs my hand before leading me into the living room. 


	5. Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Title: Southern Hospitality

Chapter 5: Vacation, All I Ever Wanted…

Disclaimer: Am I still putting these? Oh, look, I am.

A/N: Don't hate me, it's here, leave me alone, I've been busy, and I'm going out of town in a few days, but I'm going to give you one more chapter before I leave, and then I'm going to stop _updating only_ for three weeks. I will continue to write, and the second I get back I will type everything up and give it to you in a pretty silver package with a big pink bow. Or blue, cause I'm not the biggest fan of pink. 

Anywho.

I think I'm gonna try to start doing multiple-personality-chapters, to go with my newly-diagnosed disorder. No, not really, but you know what I mean. I promise you will like the story very very much in a matter of chapters, when something that I've been waiting to write for a very long time finally gets put up here. 

Title of this chapter is from the Go-Go's song, cause the second I said "Vacation" the song popped into my head.

Ooh, and good news! Pretty soon, we get a trip to Stars Hollow! Oh, those kooky townsfolk.

Anywho, enjoy, review and let me know that you still love me, and I'm writing more as we speak. 

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_Rory_

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

I hand Jess my business card, smile at him, and then leave. Little Brett waves to me as I make my way from the _huge _front foyer onto the _huge_ porch and eventually hit the sidewalk. 

Walking home, I contemplate the day I just had. 

Waking up at eleven last night, after eight hours of sleep, I took an hour to get into the city and the office, and was at my desk by ten to midnight. I sat around for eleven hours, typing up a few stories, searching for the 'Lane Rygalski gives birth to first child' story among the entertainment news. Eric and I went to eat at eleven…we spent _forever _eating, and then I rode back into Decatur to see…Jess.

My phone rings, reminding me of what Jess said about my mother calling. Sure enough, the Caller ID reads _Danes, Luke_. This means that Mom is in Luke's apartment, which isn't that surprising.

I flip open my phone and the ascending musical scale stops. 

"Mom."

"That Brett kid is Jess' _daughter_."

I sigh. "I know."

"You know?"

"I know." 

"Oh…where's her mom?"

"Jess doesn't know."

"Huh." Mom pauses. "So, where are you now?"

"Headed home," I sigh.

"Ooh. What time do you have to be at work?"

"Midnight again."

"Well, that's good for the scheduling, bad for you. You better get right home and get to sleep if you want your eight hours."

"Thanks, Mom." I yawn.

"Okay, well, I love you."

"Love you too." I yawn again.

"Let me know any and all details you learn about Jess."

I roll my eyes. "Good_bye_, Mom. Say hi to Susie and Luke for me."

"Can do. Bye, sweetie."

"Bye." I flip the phone shut and slip it back into my briefcase side pocket as I walk into my apartment complex. My building's near the back, but it only takes me a minute to reach it, because I've figured out about twenty shortcuts. I walk into my building, take a quick second to check my mail, and then unlock the door to apartment two. 

I throw my briefcase, laptop and purse onto my couch, pour a little more food into the cats' bowl, and wander sleepily into my room. I undress, pet both of my cats—Yin and Yang—behind the ears, and then shove them from my bed. Practically too tired to keep my eyes open, I fall into bed.

And proceed to lay awake for the next seven and a half hours, finally falling into a restless sleep around ten-thirty.__

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

My cell phone wakes me up, doing its utterly annoying ascending scale once again, and I groan and start crawling from my bed, to the living room where I dropped my briefcase. I eventually make it there, and then spend a few more minutes digging for the thing, but I finally find it exactly where I left it last night. 

Not bothering to check the caller ID, I flip it open and answer.

"Hello?"

"Gilmore." It's Eric. 

_Whee! It's Eric!!_

"Davis," I say calmly.

"You're late," he says simply. "What's wrong with you? You're never late."

I immediately pull the phone from my ear and check the time on the display. Eight. A.M. As in, eight hours after I'm supposed to be at work.

"Oh, my God!"

"Gilmore," Eric tries to calm me down.

"Oh, my God! I'm late! I've missed my entire eight hours! Oh, my God!"

"_Gilmore_!" Eric yells. "It's okay. You've missed a total of two days in fourteen months, and you're always working overtime. As a matter of fact, you've got a two-week vacation package you need to use soon. As soon as possible."

I groan. "But—"

"Gilmore. Take two weeks off. Get your schedule back to normal. Now, I've got to work a lot this week, but…I'll call you later this week, and we'll do something. Okay?"

I try to grin, and agree, but another man has crept into my thoughts. "'Kay," is all I can manage to force out. "Uh, I've got to go Davis, 'kay? Bye." 

I hang up, quickly, and then start from the apartment.

I'm halfway out the door of the building when I realize that I'm in my pajamas.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It's eight-thirty in the morning. I'm a _horrible_ person. I just went out with Eric last night. Or, yesterday afternoon. And now, here I am, pacing in front of Jess' house. 

"Argh!" I yell at myself, turning my pacing into stomping, and widening my path two houses down from Jess' on both sides. I'm just reaching the end of the street and turning to head back when his front door opens and Brett spills out, followed by a scolding Jess.

"Come on, kid, we're already late."

"It's your fault!" Brett pouts, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Just because I made you brush your teeth does not make it my fault. Get in the car." He pushes her back and she stumbles forward before stomping the rest of the way to the car. She stops at the door, and remains standing stock-still as Jess opens it for her.

"Get in," he sighs.  
  


"No."

"Yes."

"No." Her pout gets wider.

"Yes." He groans and picks her up.

"No!" she screams, flailing her arms and legs around as he tries to stick her in the car.

I take this as my cue to continue my pacing.

He buckles her up and slams the door on her pouting face. As he turns my way, I walk directly past him.

"Rory?" he asks, somewhat disbelievingly.

"Oh! Jess, hi! I totally forgot you live here!" _Whoa. Slow down, Elle. He's not Warner, and you're not in Harvard. _"Well, not really," I try to rectify the situation, but he ignores me pretty much.

"Don't you have work?"

"Actually…I'm pretty much on vacation. I've got two weeks that run out October first."

"Oh, okay." He nods, and we both stand there awkwardly. He's got his hands shoved in his pockets, and I'm fiddling with my purse. "Uh…you wanna come with us? I have to get to work, and there's no place that'll take Brett, godforsaken little handful that she is."

"Uh, sure." A _baby-sitter_? I'm a _baby-sitter?_ "I guess."

"Great." His nervous features relax a bit, and he points around the midsize SUV to the passenger side. I nod and walk around to get in. As I'm buckling myself up, he says, "You'll love the place I work. It's this eclectic little bookstore that probably rivals even _your _collection."

"Oh, and how do you know? Maybe I've amassed many more additions since we've seen each other last."

"I said 'probably'. It rivals mine."

"Well, then, it probably _does _rival mine."

"Let's stop saying 'rival'."

"Good idea." I nod, and we give an awkward little half-laugh.


	6. Questions, Questions

Title: Southern Hospitality

Chapter 6: Questions, Questions…

A/N: Guess what! I'm not dead!

So sorry for the long wait…I finished "Back In Stars Hollow (Again)" and started another story ("The Debutante And Her Entourage"). I also got a website, h t t p: //w w w. home. earthlink .net / ~ sami _ peace2u 

Visit it! It's cool….

The story. 

The story is now told in different POV's. The two in this chapter are Rory and Jess, and the transitions are pretty short, because the transitions need to be pretty short.

This is a big chapter, in term of stuff happening.

_Lots_ of stuff happens.

*grin*

You'll love it, I swear.

~*~*~*~*~

_Jess_

"So, uh, I thought you took the MARTA to work," Rory says awkwardly. 

From the passenger seat of my SUV. A grand total of maybe ten inches between us. 

Ten inches. That's not much.

"We usually do, but we usually go about seven or so, because Brett back there," I point my thumb to my daughter in the backseat, "can't handle rush hour. Unfortunately, this morning _someone _made us late, so we're driving."

"Ah," Rory stifles a grin. Great. My ex-girlfriend is sitting ten inches away from me, and secretly making fun of me in her head.

To change the subject, I ask, "So what are you gonna do with your two weeks vacation time?"

"Uh, I dunno." Rory shrugs. "I'll probably head up to Stars Hollow, visit Mom and Luke and Susie. Oh, you know what? You two should come with me! I'm sure Brett would love to meet Susie."

Oh, dear God. Did she just ask that? 

What do I say to that? Yes? No? Maybe so?

Ugh. Too many baby movies.__

Rory 

Oh, my God. I'm such an idiot! Did I just ask that? Did I just invite my last serious boyfriend and his _daughter_ to go back to Stars Hollow with me?

Well…in a word, yes.

And that means that I've got to decide one thing.

Do I acknowledge the question, or do I ignore it?

If I acknowledge the question, do I laugh like it's a joke? Do I ask what he thinks, seriously?

"We're here," Jess announces, somewhat awkwardly.

"Okay," I say, slowly unbuckling my seatbelt as Jess jumps out of his own seat.

We're ignoring the question.__

Jess 

We're definitely ignoring the question. Just bypassing it. Completely.

I unbuckle Brett, who has been uncharacteristically unquiet during the trip. As I lift her from the car and start to carry her into the bookstore, she asks, "Who's Susie?"

"Uncle Luke's little girl," I answer.

"Can I meet her? Pleeeze?" She laces her fingers together and gives me the puppy dog eyes and lowered bottom lip.

"Careful, you're gonna trip on your lip," I tell her. She frowns and crosses her arms over her chest.

"I wanna meet Susie!"

"Okay, okay, we'll go." 

"Yay!" Brett jumps from my arms and runs into the back room of the store, where the books she picked out yesterday are still stacked. I walk over to Rory, who's already been taken under Alice's wing.

"We'll go," I tell her quietly.

A smile slowly spreads across Rory's face as Alice nosily asks, "Go where?"

I return Rory's smile and ignore Alice by walking to the front counter. 

So we'll go.

Matched by my four-year-old daughter. It's practically a really bad romantic comedy already.__

_Rory_

I follow Jess' boss Alice into the back stacks, where I've already offered to work. 

"Are you sure you don't mind this?" she asks.

"Oh, no, of course not. I've always loved books."

"Good." She smiles. "You know, you and Jess will make a wonderful couple."

I blush. "We're not a couple."

"Oh, I know. Not yet. You want to get used to the whole 'daughter' thing first."

"Well, that's not what I meant. Jess and I used to go out; we don't anymore."

"Why'd you split up?" 

"Uh…he moved to California." I shrug. A look of understanding comes into Alice's eyes.

"You're the girl," she says softly.

"Uh, what girl?" I ask nervously.

"The girl he left behind. The girl he can't stop talking about."

A weird, warm feeling rushes over me when I hear that. Jess can't stop talking about _me_. I try not to grin, but it's apparently impossible. Alice smiles.

"I knew it. I knew you two looked amazingly close when you walked in."

"We didn't walk in together," I protest, but she shakes her head.

"And then when he came over and said 'we'll go', that look you two shared! You're definitely in love."

"What?" I scoff. "No, we're not. At least, I'm not. And I've never known Jess to be in love."

"I have. And he _is _in love. He'll just never show it. But I know." She smiles knowingly, and then shoves a large box of books into my arms. "Put those there, in alphabetical order." She points to a shelf, winks, and leaves.

Boy. News. Big news. 

And…he's coming with me to Stars Hollow!

As I shelve the first few books, I try to understand what this means. _Does_ he love me?

Do I love _him_? 

Questions, questions….

But where are the answers?__

_~*~*~*_

_Jess_

"Is Wory coming over again?" Brett asks after work as I pick her up. I pause at the mention of Wory's—I mean, Rory's—name.

"I don't know; do you want her to?" I ask. Brett nods. "She's nice."

"Okay. We'll have to ask her, but maybe she'll say yes."

"She will." Brett nods.

"Oh, and you know this for a fact?"

Brett nods again.

"Okay." I stop as Rory comes into sight; she's laughing at something Alice is saying. I whisper to Brett, "How about you ask her? Then she'll definitely say yes."

"Okay." Brett wriggles from my arms and skips over to Rory. She tugs on Rory's pants leg and says something. Rory looks over at me. I pick up a book quickly and pretend to read. Rory smirks, and I realize the book is upside down. Found out, I put the book down and wave. Rory smiles and nods to Brett. Brett comes skipping back over and grabs my hand.

"C'mon! She said yeah!" I allow Brett to drag me from the store, smiling at Rory as I'm dragged by her. She smiles back.__

_~*~*~*_

_Rory_

Jess, Brett, and I have an interesting, completely unhealthy dinner. Luke has apparently passed on his superb burger making skills, and I'm completely grateful to him. 

After one and a half burgers each—except for Brett, who had a half burger—and an endless supply of french fries, we gathered on the couch in his living room to watch a movie. Brett picks it out, but still, she drifts off within half an hour of the newest Disney/Pixar movie. Jess and I finish watching the movie, letting Brett sleep.

After the credits roll, Jess pushes himself from the couch and groans under the weight of the sleeping Brett. I half-smile, and he half-smiles back and troupes up the stairs.

I just sit there on the couch for a minute, before realizing that I can be helpful and do the dishes while Jess is upstairs. I make my way to the kitchen and notice a CD player next to the sink. Intrigued, I turn it on—quietly, so as not to wake Brett—as I begin to do the dishes. 

The first thirty seconds are vaguely familiar, but it's the drums and bass beat that start after a minute that's got my foot tapping. I recognize this song. It's "Love Burns", by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and one of my favorites. 

Cheesily, as the chorus picks up, I start dancing while washing the dishes. After a few minutes, I'm really getting into it, and, holding a sopping wet glass, I spin around.

Jess is leaning against the doorjamb, smirking.

"Hi," I say sheepishly.

He shakes his head and trudges past me to the sink, getting a glass of water. I turn back around to face him.

"What?"

He shakes his head again, leaning on the sink and drinking his water. 

I stare at him, waiting.

He finishes his water and puts the glass in the dishwasher, and then walks past me again, smirking.

"You're such a girl."

I run after him as he makes his way into the living room and push.

"Whoa!" he yells, falling over the arm of the couch and landing face down on the cushions. He rolls over on his back so he's staring at me. I smirk.

"I'm not a girl, I'm a _woman_."

He smirks. I open my mouth to say more, but he hooks his foot behind my knee and pulls, quickly enough that I stumble and fall towards the arm of the couch. He grabs my arm and pulls me to the couch so that I fall on top of him, my head to his chest.

"Fine." God. His smirk. I swear, I can _hear _it. "You're such a woman."

"And _what_ does that mean?" I ask, putting my hands on the cushions on either side of him so I can crawl where our faces are on the same level. "Are you being chauvinistic?"

"Always."

"I oughta wipe that smirk right from your face."

"Oh, just try."

I pause. He's so very, very, close. I can fell his breath. Ohhh. I feel like a teenager. "I will."

He takes his time before responding. "Okay."

I take my time. "Okay."

"Okay," he whispers.

"Yeah," I whisper back.

He leans up. 

I lean down.

We kiss.

God, he's a great kisser.__

_Jess_

I've missed Rory. Like hell. It doesn't hit me until our lips touch. All of the emotion that's been shoved into the back of my head and heart rushes forward and I transfer it into Rory.__

_Rory_

I can't believe I'm doing this.

I grab Jess' shirt and start to pull us to a standing position. He helps, moving his hands from my back to the couch and pushing us up.__

_Jess_

When we're both standing she starts to walk me to the front stairway, moving her hands from my shirt and hooking them behind my neck. I shake my head slightly and lead her to the back staircase, which isn't twisted and harder to fall on.__

_Rory_

We start climbing the carpeted back stairs. As we reach the top, he leads me down the hallway. We pass Brett's half-closed door, and then he turns us around and pushes me flat against a closed door.__

_Jess_

She moves one of her hands to the doorknob and I nod. 

She pushes and we fall into my bedroom, onto the bed.__

_Rory_

He sprawls on top of me and moves his head to my neck. I take this opportunity to remove his shirt. 

Seconds before our lips make contact again, he asks, "Are you sure you want to do this?__

_Jess_

She nods. "Positive."__

_Rory_

He attacks my lips fiercely and we continue.__

_~*~*~*_

_Jess_

I lay in bed, just staring at her. Rory. God, she looks so damn beautiful….

She smiles slightly in her sleep, and I reach out as if to trace it. I made that smile. I'm the one who helped that smile come about.

I sigh and roll onto my back. Oh, my God, I just had sex with Rory. Rory _Gilmore_. The princess of Stars Hollow. My _ex-_girlfriend. The girl I devastated all those years ago.

But the feelings she stirs inside of me….

"Daddy." _Knock-knock!_ "_Daddy!_" There's frantic knocking from the other side of my door…I groan and push myself from bed, slipping into a pair of boxers on my way to the door. 

"What is it, Brett?" I ask, opening the door a little ways and crouching on the floor, at her level. She tries to push the door open, but I don't let her.

"I had a bad dream." She tries the door again, and grunts with the effort with which she's pushing the door. "I want to sleep with you."

"Let's go sleep back in your room."

"But I wanna sleep in your room!" Her lower lip juts out, and I can see she's preparing to wail.

"Shh, shh, in your room you can keep all of your stuffed animals."

She pauses, and then grins and puts her hand in mine. "Let's go!"

I sigh. "Let's go." 

I hazard a glance in at Rory before softly shutting my door behind me as I allow Brett to drag me down the hall.__

_Rory_

I wake up alone in bed, curled up in a warm flannel comforter. I almost panic, but then realize I'm lying in Jess' bed.

I grin.

Jess' bed. It sounds so…forbidden. I pull the comforter around me tighter, and then almost panic again when I realize I'm alone. But then I hear a slight murmuring coming from down the hall.

"I'm the man who murdered love. Yeah! Whaddya think to that?" 

I smile, gather the comforter around me, and make my way towards the singing. 

"If you never ever use it, you know you're gonna lose it. If you never ever kiss it, how you ever gonna miss it?"

"Jess?" I ask as he pauses.

"Oh!" He looks up from Brett's empty bed, but keeps his head on her head and continues rocking her in his lap. "Sorry. She just…woke up." He shrugs. "But, you know, I wasn't running out or anything."

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to. It is, after all, your house." I grin and lean against the doorjamb.

"Oh. Right." He nods, and then slowly ceases rocking. When he's at a full stop, he glances down at Brett. When he realizes she's definitely sleeping, he carefully transfers her into her own bed, replacing his arm with a stuffed bunny. He rubs her hair off her forehead tenderly, and then walks to where I'm standing. 

"Let her sleep," he whispers, leaving her door ajar and leading me back to his room. I sit on his bed, and he wanders over to a chair near the window. He glances at the rapidly lightening sky, before turning back to me. 

"We have quite a few things to talk about," I say.

"Yes, we do."


	7. Under Pressure

Title: Southern Hospitality

Chapter 7: Under Pressure

A/N: The song used is "Under Pressure" by Queen and David Bowie. Enjoy!

_~*~*~*_

_Jess_   
  
"So," I say, drumming my fingers on the arm of my chair.  
  
"So," Rory responds.  
  
I sigh. "What does this mean?" I ask, leaning forward and resting my arms on my knees.  
  
Rory shrugs. "We just...had sex."  
  
"That we did." I nod and lean back.  
  
"And...it was good." Rory grins.   
  
"Yes, it was," I grin more.  
  
"We're going to Connecticut tomorrow."  
  
I shake my head. "I have to clear it with Alice first."  
  
She smiles sheepishly. "I already did. She practically forced me out the door right then."   
  
"She did not."  
  
"Yep," Rory nods. "Actually, she pretty much predicted last night."  
  
I groan. "What'd she say?"  
  
Rory smiles. "She said that we l--that we were into each other."  
  
I shake my head. "I can't see Alice saying that."  
  
"That's what she said." Rory nods.  
  
"Okay."   
  
Silence. We need to fix the stupid silence. We've got _way_ too much of it.  
  
"Are we still going to Connecticut? All three of us?" Rory asks suddenly.  
  
"I guess so."  
  
"What are we going to tell them?"   
  
I shrug. "Whatever we want to. I'll deal with Luke and you deal with Lorelai."  
  
Rory nods. "Okay. I can handle that."  
  
"Good."  
  
More silence. I stand up and walk over to the bed. As I lift the covers to slide under, Rory suddenly stands up.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asks.  
  
"I'm gonna sleep. Is that okay with you?"  
  
"I--D--N--Sure," she says finally. She sits tenderly on the edge of the bed, and I can tell she's on edge.  
  
"Rory? Are you gonna lay down?"  
  
"I--D--Do you want me to?"  
  
"I don't think you should go home right now, and it's hard to sleep sitting up."   
  
"But...do you _want_ me to?"   
  
I sigh silently. Women. "Yes," I say, "lay down."  
  
A smile slowly spreads across her face, and she lays down, spreading the comforter wrapped around her across both of us. After a second of maneuvering, she slides under the sheets.   
  
"Comfortable?" I ask. She nods. I wrap my arms around her and pull her towards me. "How 'bout now?" I whisper. She nods. "Good," I say, closing my eyes.   
  
After a minute, we both drift off to sleep.  
  
  
~*~  
_Lorelai_   
  
A wail wafts into my room, disturbing my sleep. I turn over and poke Luke in the stomach.   
  
"Your turn," I mumble.  
  
"I went last time," he says.  
  
"No, I did."  
  
"No, I--" he stops, and sighs. "Ah, who cares, I'm up now." He gets out of bed. I smile, and pull his pillow towards me.  
  
"Bye, Luke."  
  
He waves his hand at me and walks out of the room. After a minute, Susie's wailing stops, and I can hear him singing.   
  
He's so sweet.   
  
I roll over and go back to sleep, dreaming of my sweet little family.  
  
Six hours later I'm woken by the ringing of the phone.   
  
"Luke!" I call automatically. There's no answer, and the stupid phone keeps ringing, so I pick it up.  
  
"Hello?" I ask sleepily.  
  
"Hey, Mom, it's me."  
  
"Hey, babe," I greet Rory and sit up, feeling a little more awake.   
  
"I'm gonna be there in a couple hours, so I thought I'd wake you up."   
  
"Good idea. I think Luke was supposed to get me up, though--I don't know where he is."  
  
"He's at the diner with Suze. He said he tried to wake you up."  
  
"He called you?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Oh. Okay." I wonder why Luke couldn't wake me up...it might have something to do with my being woken four times in a matter of thirty minutes. "Well, if you're gonna be here soon, I should straighten the house."  
  
"Mom, I've met both you _and_ Suze; I know what the house can look like."  
  
"Yeah, but I bet Luke didn't clean this morning."   
  
"You're right, he probably didn't. I'll let you get on with it."   
  
_Rory_   
  
"Thank you sweetie," Mom says.   
  
"Bye," I say. She responds with the same, and I hang up my cell phone.   
  
"You didn't tell her about us," Jess says from the driver seat of his SUV.   
  
"_Is_ there an 'us'?"  
  
"I meant Brett and me."  
  
"Oh," I blush.  
  
"But..." he starts slowly, "I'm pretty sure there's a 'you-and-me' us."  
  
"I think so, too," I give a slight smile.  
  
"Especially after last night in the hotel."   
  
After driving ten hours yesterday we spent the night in a hotel in D.C. There was some kind of misunderstanding, so we ended up getting a room with only one bed, forcing all three of us to sleep together. It was nice...but it didn't seem like it was couple forming.  
  
"We were like a family," Jess finishes, causing me to panic.   
  
Ohhhhh. "Family". Oh, no. That's _not_ a good name for me right now! I just started my new job less than a year ago. I just saw Jess again three days ago! I mean, sure, we're really comfortable with each other...Brett already adores me, and I adore her...we live within a few blocks of each other....  
  
Oh, my good God, we're practically a family.  
  
"Rory? You okay?"   
  
"Uh! Oh, sure, yeah, I'm fine." My voice is unnaturally high to me, and my smile feels like some deranged clown has taken over my face. Jess gives me a strange look, but ignores it and continues driving.   
  
Family.   
  
Family.  
  
Family.  
  
Family.  
  
To run, or not to run...that is the question.  
  
Family.  
  
_Pressure.  
  
Pushing down on me, pushing on you.   
  
Under pressure. _  
  
I lean down and turn off the radio, silencing Bowie's and Queen's song. Jess looks at me strangely again, but I just point to the sleeping Brett, and he nods.  
  
Under Pressure: That's me.   
  
_Lorelai_   
  
Luke drops Q back off at the house around noon, along with lunch. She and I eat and then play for a while, but by one we're both half-asleep in front of the TV.   
  
Continuing my daughter's impeccable timing, the second my eyes close, she bursts in the front door.  
  
"Mom!" she calls frantically. I spring to my feet and run to her.  
  
"What? What's wrong?"  
  
"He said we're like a _family_," she whispers urgently. "Oh, what do I do, what do I do, what do I _do_?" She paces in the foyer.  
  
"Okay, calm down, back up, and use names."  
  
"Jess!"   
  
"Jess...what? Jest believe in yourself?"  
  
"No! Jess! He said we're like family!"  
  
"Oh, my God...and why would he say that?"  
  
"Because last night we all slept in the same bed? I don't know!"   
  
"_What?_ I thought you started driving yesterday--oh."  
  
"Yeah! What do I do, Mom? I'm not ready to be part of a family!"  
  
"Then why did you bring him with you?"  
  
She stops pacing...stops wringing her hands. She glances at the front door, where I can now make out a figure: Jess's. She walks slowly to the door and pulls it open. Jess walks in, carrying a toddler in his arms.  
  
"Mom, this is Brett, Jess's daughter," Rory says, waving to the toddler.   
  
"She's sleeping right now," Jess says apologetically.   
  
"Oh, that's okay, mine is too."  
  
"Is there anywhere I can lay her down?"  
  
"Well, Susie's on the couch."  
  
"Okay," Jess walks past us into the living room. We automatically both turn around and watch as he tenderly lays his daughter down.  
  
"Still apprehensive?" I ask softly.  
  
"Maybe not," Rory shakes her head. I glance at her face: she's smiling softly at Jess and Brett.  
  
She's in love.


	8. The Arrival Of The Walking Bags

Chapter 8: The Arrival of the Walking Bags

~*~*~*~*~

_Rory_   
  
Mom, Jess, and I sit around the living room, talking quietly. Around 2:30, out of the corner of my eye I notice both Brett and Susie stirring. I hold up my hand and silence Mom and Jess. They oblige, and I slowly walk over to the couch and sit between the two girls, waiting for them to wake fully. Susie does so first, and the second she sees me she climbs on my lap and gives me a hug.  
  
"Hi, sissy!" she exclaims into my arm.  
  
"Hi, Susie."  
  
She giggles, and then moves herself around so she's facing Mom and Jess. She stares at the unknown man and then points.  
  
"Who's _that_?"  
  
"_That_ is Jess. He's my--" Friend? Boyfriend? Friend? "--boyfriend," I finish. Jess smiles at me and I smile back. I glance at Mom, and for some reason she doesn't look all that shocked. I think _I'm_ more shocked than she is.  
  
"Daddy?" a tiny voice asks next to me. Brett seems very disoriented and scared, and it's very strange to think that she's the same mischievous little girl from before. "Daddy?" she practically wails.   
  
Jess springs from his chair and wraps the four-year-old in his arms, shushing her. He rocks her from side-to-side gently and walks away from us, into the kitchen. Mom waits until he's out of sight, and then she rushes to the couch and sits next to me.  
  
"He's changed," she says simply. Susie crawls into her lap.  
  
"I know...but he's still Jess."  
  
"He's not grunting slacker-boy Jess."  
  
"No, he's not. I think taking care of a four-year-old at twenty-three will do that to you, though."  
  
"You think that's hard, try taking care of a four-year-old at twenty."  
  
"Thank God for Luke," I say, smiling at Mom.  
  
"Yes, thank God for him. She's awfully nice like that."  
  
_Jess_   
  
As I'm slowly pacing around the kitchen, lulling Brett from wails to whimpers, the back door opens and Doose's Market bags with legs walk in.   
  
"Luke?" I ask as the bags groan and head for a counter.  
  
They stop. "God?"  
  
I snort. "Lorelai's sure as hell rubbing off on you, isn't she?"  
  
"Jess," he states, heaving the bags onto a counter. He turns. "What are you doing here?"  
  
I shrug. "Came with Rory."  
  
"Oh." He nods and starts unpacking. After a second, he turns back around, a shocked look on his face. "Ohh."  
  
"Yeah," I nod and try to stifle a smile.  
  
"Does Lorelai know?" he asks quietly, stepping closer to me and leaning in.  
  
I shake my head. "She didn't know when I came in here, but she probably knows now."   
  
"Ah." Luke nods and returns to putting groceries away. "You guys going to see Liz?" he asks without turning around.  
  
"I wasn't planning on it."  
  
"You should. She misses ya. Wishes you hadn't moved to Atlanta."  
  
"Okay; we'll go see her."  
  
"All of you? Or just you and Brett?"  
  
"Luke, I--"  
  
"You really should take her, Jess." Luke stops unpacking and turns to face me again, all serious. "She'd love it." He lets this sink in for a moment, and then nods and turns back around. "And, if you really wanted to be nice, you'd take Susie and make a day of it."   
  
I pick a washcloth up from the sink and hurl it at Luke as I walk past him back into the living room.  
  
~*~*~  
_Rory_   
  
"Say bye to Mommy, Suze," I command my little sister. She leans down to get enough leverage to swing her arms in a full body rocking wave, and then screams, "BYE!!!"  
  
I laugh and herd her into her car seat in Jess' SUV. After a minute of fumbling, I get Susie strapped in next to Brett, and then climb into the passenger seat, next to Jess. He glances at me after I get in, and then glances at the girls in the backseat.   
  
"You guys good?"  
  
"Yes!" they chorus. Susie choruses a little softer, but she's already enamored with her older cousin. Second cousin? First once removed? Whatever. She's enamored with Brett.  
  
"Ready?" Jess asks softly. I nod, and he starts the car. The Sex Pistols blast through the stereo and we pull out of my mother's driveway. For a day and night in New York City. With Jess.   
  
It would be very romantic, if it weren't for the toddlers.  
  
_Jess_   
  
I offer to leave Rory and Susie at the hotel, but they refuse, and instead troupe up six flights with Brett and me to my mother's apartment. I don't understand, but Rory insists that she wants to meet Lizzie, and Susie goes where Rory does, so....  
  
"Don't expect much," I mutter to Rory. Brett slaps my leg.   
  
"Be nice to Gramma."  
  
I ruffle her hair and ring the doorbell.  
  
"I'll be there in a sec, Jimmy!" Lizzie's voice yells.   
  
"Isn't Jimmy your dad's name?" Rory asks.  
  
"Yeah." That's weird. I didn't realize my parents still spoke to each other. Sasha and Lizzie did all of the talking the two years between my move to California and Brett's and my move to Atlanta.   
  
"Sorry, Jimmy, I--" Liz pulls the door open and stops. "Jess."  
  
"Liz."  
  
"Oh, Brett! You're so big!" Lizzie leans down and picks up Brett. She groans. "Oh, and so heavy!"  
  
"Hi, I'm Rory, Jess' girlfriend," Rory announces.   
  
"Oh, hi!" Liz shakes Rory's hand, and then notices the two-year-old draped on her leg. "Don't tell me you--"  
  
Rory laughs. "Oh, no. This is my sister, Susannah."  
  
"Oh, you're _that_ Rory. Daughter of the one who tamed my baby brother."  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's me."  
  
"Well...come in, come in!"   
  
We all walk in. Lizzie sets Brett down, who goes for her favorite chair. Susie follows her. Lizzie walks around the living room, straightening throw pillows here and there.  
  
"I can't believe this is where you grew up," Rory whispers.  
  
"It's not," I say flatly. "Lizzie's only gotten her act together in the past five years." Kinda like Jimmy, and me, I add silently.  
  
"It's nice," Rory says, before walking over to the two girls. I make sure they're all fine before walking after my mother, who's heading into the kitchen.  
  
"Lizzie, why'd you think I was Jimmy?"  
  
"No reason," she says dismissively, opening the fridge. "I can't believe you didn't call! I'm not sure I have any food for toddlers."  
  
"Liz," I say sharply, grabbing her arm as she starts toward a cabinet. "What is going on with you and Jimmy?"  
  
"Nothing!" she practically yells, wrenching her arm from my grip. We glare at each other for a second, and then the doorbell rings. "Oh, no," she whispers, before bustling back to the front door.   
  
I follow her, still staring after her. Rory, Brett, and Susie pull me down onto the couch with them, and I half-watch the girls and half-watch as my mother opens the door to reveal Jimmy.  
  
But not just Jimmy.  
  
Oh, no.  
  
When my mother conspires, she conspires.   
  
She's done it twice before: once to send me to Stars Hollow, and the second time she conspired with Sasha, to send Brett and me to Atlanta.  
  
But this time...this time it's worse.  
  
She's conspired with Jimmy.  
  
And she and Jimmy have found Ivy.  
  
Brett's mom.

~*~*~*~*~*~

A/N: This was the closest thing I had to an idea after I made everything all perfect with Rory accepting Brett and Jess as her new family. They're an awkward family, and a new family, but they're practically a family. Now, unfortunately, Ivy has reentered the mix.   
  
And now it's all up in the air.


	9. A Ballad To Sleep To

Chapter 9: A Ballad To Sleep To

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_Rory_   
  
The doorbell rings, and Susie sets down her coloring book.  
  
"Whosit?" she asks. I shrug, and look towards the kitchen. The door swings open and Liz, a worried look on her face, walks quickly through the living room. She flashes me a fast nervous smile, and then slows to a stop in front of the door. Jess stalks out of the kitchen and settles on the couch between me and the arm. Brett crawls over me and settles on Jess as Liz pulls the door open.  
  
A man is standing there, with a few days' stubble and dark brown hair poking from beneath a black baseball cap. Susie gives him a second glance, but ultimately decides that he doesn't interest her. Brett, however, springs from Jess' lap and runs to the man.  
  
"Grampa!" she screams, wrapping her arms around his legs. It is only when he bends down to pick her up do I notice the woman standing behind him. My first thought is that it's Sasha, his girlfriend, but this woman doesn't quite match Jess' description. This woman's hair, while almost white-blonde, is too long; her face is too youthful; and I'm not quite sure that the laid-back Sasha would be caught dead in this woman's professional looking skirt and jacket. The woman seems shocked at the appearance of the toddler, and backs up a step.   
  
The man, who I assume to be Jimmy, notices her wariness and pulls her into the apartment with his free arm. She practically falls over the threshold, glances at Brett again, and runs past her. When she turns away from Brett, she stops, suddenly, and falls into a large armchair facing the couch.  
  
"Jess," she says quietly, coldly, staring at him.   
  
He nods and opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. He swallows, clears his throat, and then glances at me before saying, "Ivy."  
  
Ivy. Ivy? _Ivy??_ As in _Brett's mom _Ivy? As in the only person Jess has gone out with since we broke up?  
  
Oh, I'm dizzy. Am I dizzy? Am I going to collapse? This is a sign. This is a sure sign that Jess and I are _not_ meant to be together. The only other thing that could cement this would be if, I don't know, _Eric_ were to call me out of the blue. But how utterly contrived and Dawson's Creek-like would _that_ be?   
  
It's not gonna happen.  
  
My phone rings.  
  
_Jess_   
  
Rory's purse starts playing "YMCA" by the Village People, and her face pales. I have a feeling that Lorelai played with Rory's cell phone before we left Stars Hollow this morning. Rory stands up, dumps Susie into my lap, and smiles apologetically. She picks up her purse and hurries into the kitchen. After a second, the tinkly song stops playing, and I turn back to face Ivy.   
  
"How are you?" she asks in that same damn tone, calm and collected, like we're old rivals, instead of parents.  
  
"Alone. Working my ass off," I say fiercely, practically under my breath. How dare she show up now? I fucking just saw the _real_ love of my life after a damn five years!   
  
Ivy just nods and looks away. Jimmy walks over and sits in the spot Rory left vacant.  
  
"How ya doin', Jess?"  
  
I shrug. "I'm busy." Susie clambers from my lap down to the floor to continue coloring. Brett immediately jumps from Jimmy's lap to mine. She gives me a quick hug, before turning around and leaning into my chest, facing Ivy.   
  
Jimmy nods, and glances toward the kitchen. "Who's the girl?" he leans over and asks conspiratorially.  
  
"Rory," I say simply. Jimmy glances at Lizzie and nods slowly.   
  
"Be right back," he says quickly. He stands from the couch and wanders over to Lizzie; they stand and talk quickly in hushed tones.   
  
"Who're _you_?" Brett asks, causing Ivy to quickly look at her.  
  
"Uh...." Ivy stammers.  
  
"That's Ivy," I explain to Brett.   
  
Ivy breathes, and relaxes a bit. She gives her daughter a half-smile. "Hi."   
  
Brett turns around, burying her face in my shoulder. "I don't like her," she wails softly, causing Susie to look up from her book. The two-year-old stands, carrying her book and crayon over to us. She lays them both in my lap and pats Brett on the back, before heading back to her bag of toys.   
  
"It's okay, sweetie," I say softly, prying Brett from my shoulder and turning her around. "Look what Susie gave you." I hand the coloring book and crayon to Brett, and set her on the floor next to the coffee table. She starts coloring, her tongue between her teeth, her tears forgotten. I look back at Ivy.  
  
"Sorry," she says quietly.  
  
"For what?" I ask angrily, but softly.  
  
"Everything," she whispers.   
  
I shake my head. "It's too late now. Your own daughter doesn't like you." I stand, so I'm towering over the sitting 5'11" Ivy. "You've been replaced," I say quietly, menacingly, before stalking into the kitchen.  
  
_Ivy_   
  
I _never_ wanted a damn baby. I have always been focused on being an independent woman: no relationships of any kind. After my parents died, it just reiterated everything for me. Stupid Jess Mariano was hilarious, all wry and sarcastic, and not even realizing that he was so fucking stupid--making fun of Venice Beach, the hemp vendors, the bikini-clad natives and tourists alike. He was so unoriginal, I just had to hang around him until he decided to come up with his own material. Unfortunately, he had some kind of unresolved celibacy issues with his ex-girlfriend, and projected her image onto me, and I was bored, so we had sex one night.  
  
One night.  
  
One time.  
  
It was even _safe_ sex, for crying out loud.   
  
Yet, three weeks later, my period was AWOL, I was puking the second anything with a stronger smell than water was in a ten-mile radius of me....  
  
And the goddamn stick? Turned pink.   
  
Jess, annoyed with _me_, threw his entire heart and soul into taking care of me "for the baby".   
  
And he was so thrilled when she was born. I just knew, the second he held her in his arms, he was going to be enamored with her forever.  
  
I, on the other hand, had gotten sick of her three weeks after her conception.   
  
I refused to name her, letting Jess do it. I offered to let him take her home for "the first week". He was thrilled, rocking her in the nursery less than an hour before she was to go home. While he was rockin', I was walkin'. The doctors said that after twenty-four hours, I could leave. So, I did.   
  
After four years, I started to feel bad, so I looked up Jess' dad. He said he'd take me to Jess' mom's house, where she could prep both me and Jess for seeing each other again.  
  
My timing never _was_ good.   
  
Jimmy opens the door and the little girl comes running to him.  
  
God.  
  
I'm so freaked out....  
  
Then I see Jess, sitting next to this beautiful brunette. The brunette's got her own little girl in her lap.   
  
I all of a sudden don't want to see Jess or the little girl anymore. I wonder why I _ever_ wanted to. And then he treats me like shit...which, needless to say, I am.   
  
My own daughter hates me.  
  
That brunette's my replacement.  
  
I jump from my seat and exit the apartment. I run down the six flights of stairs and fling myself out the door, running through Greenwich Village as quickly as I can. The second I reach Washington Square Park I plop onto a side of the fountain and bury my head in my hands.   
  
I'm going back to California as soon as I can. Jess and my daughter are better off without me.  
  
_Jess_   
  
"Rory, we need to leave. Now," I say the second I enter the kitchen. She hangs up her phone, slowly, and drops it into her purse. "You okay? Who was that?" I ask, forgetting all about Ivy.  
  
"That was Mom."   
  
I stare at her expectantly. "And?" I ask after a second.  
  
"She's...pregnant."  
  
"What? Again?"  
  
"Yeah." She nods. She bustles past me and starts to the living room. "She just got the call a few minutes ago. She says we definitely need to stay here tonight so she can tell Luke." Rory throws all of Susie's loose toys into her toy bag, and then sits on the couch, pulling Susie into her lap. "Can we leave now?" she asks quietly, pulling Susie's previously discarded socks back on.  
  
I nod, and perform a similar routine with Brett, sitting next to Rory. After a minute, Jimmy and Lizzie reappear from a back room and stop when they notice our leaving rituals.  
  
"Wait! You're leaving?" Lizzie asks, rushing over.   
  
Rory and I nod at the same time.   
  
"But what about--" Lizzie turns around to point to Ivy, but pauses when she realizes that Ivy's gone. "Where's Ivy?" she asks, turning back around.  
  
I shrug.  
  
"Jess," Lizzie sighs.   
  
Rory glances between Lizzie and me, and then kisses me quickly on the cheek. "I'll take the girls to the car." She hoists Susie to her hip and holds out her other hand for Brett to hold. She kind of waves goodbye to Lizzie and Jimmy, and then makes a grateful exit.  
  
"What?" I ask, turning back to my parents.  
  
"What happened to Ivy? She was ready to be a family again," Lizzie says importantly.  
  
"_Again_? There's no _again_ about it! The only thing that could slightly qualify Ivy for motherhood is being biologically related to Brett. But Brett hates Ivy, Ivy's too immature to even care about her daughter for four damn years, and she _ran away_. She just disappeared, without telling anyone she was leaving. I can almost guarantee you that we'll never hear anything from her again." I pick up Susie's forgotten toy bag and sling it over my shoulder. "I've gotta go. I'll call you." I exit the apartment angrily and stumble down the six flights to the street.   
  
"Let's go home," Rory says wearily as I climb into the SUV.   
  
"But Lorelai--" I start to protest. Rory interrupts me.  
  
"Let's drop Susie in Stars Hollow and go _home_. I don't want to be away anymore."  
  
"Okay," I agree, easing the car into traffic. I'm wondering whether Rory means home as in Atlanta itself, home as in her house, or home as in my house when she puts one hand on my arm.  
  
"No...let's leave Brett and Susie with Liz and go back to the hotel."  
  
I raise my eyebrows but agree, turning down the next side street to get back to Lizzie's.   
  
Rory stays in the car while I give the girls to my parents, who offer to keep them till the morning as long as they have every phone number imaginable. Rory seems worn out as we drive to the hotel and check in. My musings are confirmed when she collapses on one of the twin beds and immediately starts sleeping. I lift the blanket from the other bed and cover her with it. I softly settle on the opposite bed and watch as a single strand of her hair draped over her face rises and falls as she breathes in and out.


	10. No Wits Or Whats About It

Chapter 10: No Wits or Whats About It

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_*Jess*_   
  
"Daddy." _Poke. Poke._ "Daddy." _Poke._   
  
The early morning wake-up ritual is so routine that I almost wonder if the last few days happened. Then I hear an unfamiliar little giggle and open my eyes.  
  
"Daddy! You waked up!" Brett leans back on her feet, bounces, and claps. I sit up and pull her into my lap roughly, causing her to giggle up a storm.  
  
"Fun!" Susie yells from the end of the bed.  
  
Aw, crap.  
  
I glance over at the bed adjacent to mine, expecting to see Rory sitting there, grinning. Instead, Liz is passed out, snoring, and Rory's stuff is nowhere in sight.  
  
Aw, _shit!_   
  
_*Lane*_   
  
"Bye, Lane!" Brian yells, rushing past me through the open door. Zach, carrying Brian's guitar as well as his own, shrugs.  
  
"Date," we say simultaneously as Brian's car speeds out of the driveway. He gets as far as the gate before he realizes that he's left his guitar and Zach.  
  
"Hey," he yells, standing in his seat and turning around through the sunroof. "I need my guitar! Come on!" He settles back into his seat and starts blaring our latest studio release.  
  
Zach shakes his head. "He gets really excited over second dates."  
  
"Yeah, he really does," I grin. "Promise me you won't let him go _too_ crazy."  
  
"Promise me you won't let _him_ work too hard," he shoots back, glancing out the large bay window in the living room at Dave.  
  
"I'll try."   
  
"Okay." Zach leans down and pecks me on the cheek. "And get off your feet!" he commands as he heads away from the house. I wave him off and smile, before turning around and watching my husband.  
  
He's sitting on a stool perched on the farthest edge of our deck, as close to the water as he can get without settling unsteadily on the sand. He's got his perpetual guitar in his hands, a tape recorder and notebook on an adjacent stool. His fingers fly over the strings, his mouth moves slowly, thoughtfully. As I watch, he stops and jots something else down in his notebook. He glances towards the waves for a minute, and then leans down and turns off his tape recorder. He stands, gathers his various acoutrements, and wanders back into the house.  
  
"Hey," he smiles as he sees me. He sets the guitar and tape recorder down and walks over to me. "They leave?" he asks, kissing my lips quickly.   
  
"Brian had to get to his date."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Two in a row, right?" He doesn't wait for an answer, just heads into our bedroom.  
  
"Yep. He was thrilled," I answer, following him.  
  
"Always is." Dave wanders into our bathroom, and back out again. "Underwater camera?"  
  
"Next to the surfboard."  
  
He nods. "I think I'm gonna head out there. Great waves."  
  
"Whatever you say," I grin. I love when he turns into surfer dude husband.   
  
"Stop with the grin," he admonishes.   
  
"Okay, sorry," I say, still grinning.   
  
"Don't the kittens need feeding?" he asks desperately.  
  
"Yeah," I say, standing up from the bed. I kiss him quickly. "Don't stray too far."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Okay. Have fun."   
  
"Get off your feet," he calls as I exit the room.   
  
"That's what Zach said," I call back.  
  
"I always knew he was a smart man!"  
  
I laugh, and walk through our large, open living room to our ground-floor glass porch. "Little kitties," I call, sliding the glass door shut behind me. Five three-month-old kittens run to my feet and mob me, meowing wildly. "Okay, okay, calm down," I laugh, scooping down to pick up Seymour, the orange striped one. "Let me get the food."  
  
I carry Seymour out of the porch and into the pantry, where I grab a bag of kitten chow. As I'm edging back onto the porch, I glance out the glass and notice a taxi curving down our long driveway. It pulls to a stop in front of the door and a very familiar tall brunette climbs out.  
  
"Rory!" I scream, placing Seymour down gently and running to the front door.  
  
_*Rory*_   
  
I laugh as the black kitten jumps on my stomach and flies off into his little grey striped sister.  
  
"What are their names again," I ask Lane.  
  
"The orange one's Seymour, the black one's Rocky, the grey striped one with white feet is Jay, and the two girls are Jeep and Lisa. Lisa's the littlest one."  
  
"Okay," I groan as Jay vaults himself into my stomach. I'm sprawled on my back on Lane's porch floor. She's sitting in a white rocking chair in one corner, petting Lisa on her tiny shelf of a lap.  
  
"My mom's pregnant again," I say, glancing upside down at my best friend.  
  
"No! Really?" Lane asks, startling Lisa so she jumps onto the floor.  
  
I nod. "She and Luke are supposed to get married in December, too."  
  
"Are they gonna move it up now?"  
  
I pause, and cock my head. "I don't know. I didn't ask."  
  
"I hope I can go." Lane sighs. "I _hate_ being pregnant."  
  
"How far along are you?"  
  
"She should have been born two days ago! It's agony."  
  
"Maybe we should call you Rachel, from _Friends_," I say mock-thoughtfully.  
  
"But I don't want my baby to disappear after two episodes."  
  
"But Freddie Prinze Jr. could be your manny!" I protest.  
  
"Let's shut up about _Friends_, okay?" Lane says, starting to laugh.  
  
"Okay," I manage to get out through chuckles.   
  
We lapse into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Lane stands up suddenly and walks over to me.  
  
"Get up," she announces.  
  
"No, that's okay," I say, petting Rocky.  
  
Rocky runs from my hands, and Lane reaches her own down. "Up _now_."  
  
"You'll make a good mom," I say, using her hand to stand up.  
  
"Upstairs. Now."  
  
"But--" I try to protest.  
  
"No. Upstairs. Library. Right now."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." I hang my head in mock defeat and make my way to the library, per Lane's orders.  
  
The second she waddles in the door she closes it and locks it and pushes me onto the leather couch. "Why are you here?" she asks, leaning against a large desk and crossing her arms.  
  
"I just wanted to see my best friend--is that okay?" I ask, way too defensively. Lane notices.  
  
"No, that's not okay. Not when something collossal is happening to you and you won't tell me what it is."  
  
"Mom's--"  
  
"I know Lorelai's pregnant--that's not it." Lane shakes her head. "I can't tell what it is, but there's _something_ different about you."   
  
"There's nothing different at all," I say, glancing at one of the large stacks of books.   
  
"We are not leaving this room until you tell me what has happened in the past week."  
  
I duck my head. So much crap has happened since I talked to Lane a week ago, I hardly know where to start.  
  
"Start at the beginning," she says, reading my mind.  
  
"Okay." I nod. "I was on the MARTA, and--"  
  
"Hold that thought," Lane grimaces, holding up one hand, the other on her swollen stomach. "Don't _forget_ that thought, _hold_ it."   
  
"Okay..." I say hesitantly. "Why?"  
  
"I'm in labor."  
  
"WHAT?!" I jump to my feet.  
  
"Dave's surfing, can you go find him?"  
  
"What about you?" I ask, rushing to Lane's side.  
  
"I'll be fine! Just get Dave. I'll call Zach to drive me to the hospital."  
  
"But--"  
  
"Rory! Go find my husband!" Lane says semi-desperately, shoving a key into my hand.  
  
"Okay," I say, backing away. I unlock the door to the library and start running down the stairs. I pick up a phone extension on the ground floor and hear Lane gasping to Zach, so I throw it on the floor and rush out to the beach, hoping Dave's not too far out.


	11. The Surfing Groundhog

Chapter 11: The Surfing Groundhog

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_*Rory*_   
  
I fly through Lane's back door and across her deck. I hit the sand running and speed down the beach. After a second I glance a body surfing a little ways off shore.  
  
"DAVE!" I scream, running to the edge of the water. "DAVE!"  
  
He rides the wave out, and then the water sucks him under.   
  
"DAVE!" Oh, my God. "_DAVE!_"  
  
His head pokes above the water level and he glances around, trying to see where the voice is coming from. I'm suddenly struck with the image of groundhog peeking from his burrow on Groundhog Day, but I shake my head to clear the image.   
  
"DAVE!" I scream again, this time waving my arms.   
  
He moves his mouth, probably saying 'Rory?' I just continue waving my arms, and then scream, "BABY!"  
  
His face drops, shocked, and he dives under the water. He pops back up a split second later, swimming frantically towards the shore. His surfboard's still attached to his leg with that little...attachment thing. He reaches the beach within no time and immediately detaches his surfboard. He picks it up and starts running toward me.   
  
Or, more accurately, the house, as I realize when he continues right past me, yelling, "Where is she?"  
  
I follow him into the house. "Zach picked her up to take her to the hospital."  
  
"Okay," he nods, and leaves me standing in the large living room while he changes. The phone extension, lying on the floor where I threw it earlier, stares at me. I think it's laughing.  
  
"You love Jess, you love Jess," it says in a taunting voice.  
  
"I do not," I protest.  
  
"Oh, yes you do. You've always loved Jess. He's the sensitive bad boy. You're the goody-two shoes town princess. You were meant to be." The phone chuckles. "Besides, bad boys are _hot_!"  
  
Suddenly I realize that the phone is talking in my mother's voice. I groan and dive onto the white leather couch. Not enough sleep makes me delusional.   
  
"Come on, let's go!" Dave yells, running from his room to the front door. I spring from the couch and sprint across the room to catch up with him before he leaves me stuck here.  
  
_*Jess*_   
  
"Come _on_, Brett, get in the car!"  
  
"No. I wanna stay with Gramma and Grampa!" Brett stamps her foot on the ground. Just _so_ much like her mother. I lean down and pick her up. She kicks and screams and hits, but I shove her into her seat and buckle her up. I walk around the car to my seat, waving at my mother as I do so. She half-waves back, and then I descend back into the world of parenting and wailing toddlers.  
  
I'm driving back to Stars Hollow.   
  
With my daughter.  
  
And my uncle's daughter.  
  
Without Rory.  
  
Lizzie told me that Rory called her and said she'd meet me back in Atlanta. She said she was busy with something.  
  
Running away, I bet. Rory's always been good at that.  
  
Then again, I'm doing the same thing.  
  
I sigh. Brett pauses in her wailing.  
  
"Where's Wory?"  
  
"She's meeting us at home," I say.   
  
Brett pouts. "I wanna see her _now!_"  
  
"You can't!" I yell back. I realize it's a bad idea the second the words leave my mouth. Her face crumples, and within seconds she's descended back into crying. Susie takes one look at Brett and one at the empty passenger seat, and then joins in.  
  
This is gonna be one hell of a trip.  
  
_*Lorelai*_   
  
Okay, so Luke's gonna come in, and I'm gonna say, "Susie's gone for one more day." And he'll say "I know", and give me that damn bedroom look and we'll start to kiss and head up there and the second we reach the threshold I'm gonna announce that I'm pregnant.  
  
Okay.  
  
Good plan.  
  
"Lorelai?" Luke calls from the front door. "I've got groceries!"  
  
"Okay," I call back, trying to push myself from the kitchen table to make it to Luke. Eventually I make it, and I grab two bags from him and walk back to the kitchen. He follows. I set my bags on the counter and stand with my back to him for a second, gathering my strength. Luke starts unloading his bags, so he's closer to the phone when it rings.  
  
"Hello? Hey, how're you?" He smiles, and his voice takes on his "adoring father" tone. Rory's on the other line. "How was seeing Liz? What? You're _where?_"  
  
I perk up. Did Jess and Rory elope? I'm almost excited.  
  
"_What?_ What about--" Rory interrupts him, and his face gets that same look it gets when we're arguing about coffee. "But-- Rory." He sighs. He's always sighing! "Okay. Okay, I'll tell her. Okay, I'll tell _him_. Okay. You sure?" He nods. "Okay. Good. Be careful. Bye."  
  
"That was Rory," he says. "She's in California."  
  
They eloped!  
  
"Lane's in labor, and she's at the hospital. Rory says she's gonna be flying into Hartford the second Lane's baby's born. She also says that Jess is supposed to be heading through here on his way home. She wants us to get him to stay here." He shakes his head. "I hope they don't do that 'we're-breaking-up-but-not-telling-each-other-and-instead-heading-thousands-of-miles-apart' thing again." He finishes the bag and wads it up. He throw it over his shoulder and sighs. "That was crappy."  
  
I nod. He looks over at me curiously. "You've been strangely quiet."  
  
I open my mouth to say something about Rory's amazing news, but instead, what comes out is "I'm pregnant."  
  
Luke literally falls to the floor, dumbfounded, and sits Indian-style.  
  
"Luke?" I ask, walking over to him and placing my hand on his shoulder.   
  
He looks up at me and grins, before grabbing my hand and pulling me down into his lap.  
  
"Really?" he asks roughly.  
  
I grin. "Yes."  
  
He wraps his arms around me and cradles me for a second in a hug. Then he pushes me back so we can see each other. "You wanna get married?"  
  
I laugh. "We're already engaged."  
  
"I know; you wanna get married? Soon?"  
  
I keep my gaze on Rory's closed bedroom door and think it over. I glance back at Luke; he looks so thrilled.   
  
"Yes."


	12. Things Are Never What You Think

Chapter 12: Things Are Never What You Think

~*~*~*~*~*~

_*Rory*_   
  
"Okay, Mrs. Ryglaski, you seem to be almost fully dilated and effaced. I have another patient delivering soon, so I'm going to head over to her, but I'll be back in just a few minutes." The doctor smiles at Lane, nods her head, and leaves.  
  
"Why are you here?" Lane asks, glancing to where I'm standing in the corner.  
  
"You--you're in la--"  
  
"I _know_ that. Why are you in California?"  
  
I shake my head. "It's not important, now. What's important is--"  
  
"Don't finish that sentence before you tell me why you flew all the way across the country!" Lane demands. She reminds me of a combination of my mother and...Brett.  
  
"Brett," I say softly.  
  
"Who's 'Brett'?"  
  
"Jess' daughter."  
  
Lane's eyes widen. "What?"  
  
"Jess Mariano. He has a four-year-old daughter and he's living in Atlanta. We met on the MARTA."  
  
"Oh, my God, it's like _Sliding Doors_!"  
  
I laugh. "Right. Except not."   
  
"Well, it's at least _Dharma and Greg_. Your mother always reminded me of Abby...in...some ways." Lane shakes her head. "So, tell me _everything_."  
  
"Okay," I say hesitantly, settling on the edge of her bed.  
  
"Okay!" She's way too excited. I keep getting reminded of her awful cheerleader days. "First of all: is he married?"  
  
I shake my head. "No. Brett's mom is this real low-life, and she's really only seen Brett a few times. He's been raising Brett all by himself."  
  
"Aww!" Lane grins.   
  
"Yeah, I know." I grin back. "They're really cute together. She's just like him. She pretends to read everything he does, too--when we first met, she stole On The Road and read it upside down. And when she can't sleep, he sings to her. XTC. 'The Man Who Murdered Love'. It's the sweetest."  
  
Lane looks thoughtful. "If they're so cute together, why are you _here_?"  
  
"Be--because...he called us a family."  
  
"And? Is that good? Is that bad? Are you not sure?"  
  
"I'm...not sure, I suppose."  
  
"Okay." Lane clears her throat. "Let's try a little word association."   
  
I raise my eyebrows at Lane, but nod. "Okay."  
  
"Close your eyes."   
  
I oblige.  
  
"All right, I'm gonna say a word, and you say the first thing that comes to mind."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Lane pauses, thinking. "CNN."  
  
"Job."  
  
"Job."  
  
"Travel."   
  
"Travel."  
  
"New York." Travel--New York?   
  
"New York."  
  
"Jess." Whoa.   
  
Lane takes her time with the next one. "Boyfriend."  
  
"Jess."  
  
"Books."  
  
"Jess."  
  
"Love."  
  
"Jess."  
  
"Sex."  
  
I smile, remembering a few nights ago. "Really, really good."  
  
"Brett, Jess, and you."  
  
"Family." I open my eyes. Lane's smiling.  
  
"There ya go. You not only love him, the sex is really good and you want to be a family. I suggest you get the hell out of here and fly back to him right now."  
  
"But--"  
  
"Yeah, after the baby."  
  
"Okay."  
  
We both smile...best friends...who've figured everything out.  
  
_*Jess*_   
  
They left me in the house.  
  
Luke and Lorelai took Susie and Brett to the diner and shopping or something that sounded _really_ unappealing, and they left me in the house.   
  
There's nothing on television, their computer isn't fully hooked up--neither of them know how to do it--and they're the middle-age parents of a two-year-old.   
  
There's not much to do.  
  
I wander through the living room and the kitchen for what has to be the five thousandth time, this time stopping in front of Rory's closed bedroom door.  
  
I haven't been in this room in six years.  
  
I make up my mind and go in.  
  
There's still the wall of travel posters, only this time someone has pinned large signs on them, proclaiming, "We made it!" and "Been there, done that". Her Harvard corner has been transformed into a Yale corner--that much I figured. Her bookcase is far from the packed shelves I saw so long ago. There are less books there now, having all been transported down South. I see a few favorites still lying unsupported in corners, and I pull a random, well-worn paperback and slip it into my back pocket for later reading.  
  
Her desk is just a desk, scattered papers and CDs and a lamp. Her dresser is bare, save for a large guestbook that looks as if it came from the Dragonfly. I walk over to it and glance at the open page.   
  
"Sat and forever am at work here" is written in Lorelai's hurried script. Underneath, in Rory's careful handwriting, it says "Satanic forces are at work here."  
  
I nod. That pretty much sums up the girls for you. I wander to Rory's open closet and glance inside. A few clothes, thousands of shoes. I'm about to leave the room when a box practically buried beneath the shoes catches my eye. I pull it out, and then the other three behind it.  
  
**Dean**  
  
**Jess**  
  
**Oscar**  
  
**Ryan**  
  
I discard the other three boxes and open up the one with my name on it. Books and CDs she borrowed and I never got back, along with the stray T-shirt, is in the box. I dig around for a minute and pull out Howl, the book I stole the first day I met her. As I flip through the book, tickets fall out. Movie tickets, concert tickets, and...two tickets to Stars Hollow High Prom of 2003. "Bought by Lane Kim" is scrawled on the bottom of both, my name on one and Rory's on the other, and Rory has absentmindedly doodled all around it, drawing a heart around the date and both our names.   
  
The very last thing in the bottom of the box is an envelope. I pull it out and open it. I pull the first letter out--it's from Luke. I pull out the second letter, this one from Rory. She says she misses me, and so does Luke, and if I came home, that'd be okay with her. She wouldn't mind seeing me again.   
  
The last thing in the envelope is a faded airplane ticket for Jess Mariano, bought by Luke Danes, from Venice Beach to Hartford, September 21, 2003.  
  
The envelope is unaddressed. Never sent.  
  
I put everything back in the box the way it was, and then shove all of the boxes back underneath Rory's shoes.   
  
It's only two minutes later, as I'm leaving Rory's room for the couch, do I realize that I've got her letter still curled into my hand.  
  
_*Rory*_  
  
I wave goodbye to Lane one last time and leave her room. I take a detour past the nursery, to catch another peek of little Baby Boy Rygalski before I fly back to Jess.  
  
Lane and Dave were expecting a girl, so they didn't have any boy names...just goes to show how things are never what you think.  
  
I pull my cell from my purse and dial my office, hoping to get the news into the ticker first, and then I can get all of the major magazines--with permission of Lane already, of course.  
  
The phone rings once before someone picks it up.  
  
"CNN newsroom, Davis here."  
  
Uh...oh. Davis.  
  
"Uh, can you connect with me with Grace Taylor?"  
  
"What's the nature of your call?"  
  
"Entertainment News for the ticker."  
  
"Employee ID number."  
  
"569156," I rattle off.  
  
"Gilmore?" he asks.  
  
"Hi," I say sheepishly.  
  
"Where are you? I tried calling you last night and you didn't answer."  
  
"Well...right now I'm sort of in California."  
  
"Enjoying your vacation?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
"What say you we grab dinner when you're back in town?"  
  
Awkward. Stupid! Awkward.  
  
"Uh, actually, Eric, I've got a little news on that front."  
  
"Uh-oh. You called me Eric."  
  
"Yeah, I did. I can't go out with you anymore."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean, we only ever really had one date, and unfortunately, it was a really good date.... But anyway, right after that date, I ran into someone from my past, and now...he's not in my past anymore. He's my future."  
  
"Uh, okay."  
  
"Yeah." I smile. Jess is my future, Jess is my future! "Can you connect me with Grace now?"  
  
"Sure."   
  
Eric clicks off, and I'm stuck listening to really bad Muzak. In my head, however, I'm singing my own little tune.  
  
Jess is my future, Jess is my future!


	13. Occasions

Chapter 13: Occasions

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

_*Rory*_   
  
"Rory."  
  
I groan.  
  
"Rory. Rory!"  
  
"What?" I ask, rolling onto my back.  
  
"Come on, you gotta wake up."  
  
"Nuh-uh," I protest, rolling back onto my stomach and covering my head with my pillow.  
  
"I gotta get to work, Ror." The bed leans toward Jess as he settles next to my head.  
  
"No." I wrap my arms around his waist and plop my head in his lap. He starts absentmindedly smoothing my hair.  
  
"What time did you get home last night?"  
  
I open my eyes and blearily stare at my digital clock. When I finally comprehend the numbers, I hit Jess.  
  
"It's 7:15!"  
  
"And you got home...when?"  
  
"Four!"  
  
"Aw, poor baby." He kisses me quickly on my forehead, and then slides from under me and stands up. I groan again and grab my pillow.  
  
"Turn the light off when you leave."  
  
"You have to watch Brett."  
  
"So, give her a sedative and throw her in here. We'll conk out together."  
  
Jess sighs, and I hear his footsteps retreat. I snuggle into my pillow and wish for sleep.  
  
Ah.  
  
Silence.  
  
"NO! _I_ _WANT_ **_KITTY!_**"   
  
My eyes pop open, and I sigh. I roll onto the floor and stand up, blinking in the stupid fluorescent light Jess left on. I curse him silently and shuffle into the living room. Jess and Brett are standing in front of the couch, arguing. Brett has my black cat Yin in her arms, and Jess is trying to get him.  
  
"Come on, give me the cat."  
  
"NO!" Brett screams again, angling her body more away from Jess. He sighs and rubs his forehead.   
  
"Jess, it's okay," I say softly, leaning against the doorjamb. Jess just nods and continues rubbing his forehead. I walk over to him and kiss his cheek. "Go to work. I'll handle it here."   
  
He nods. "Okay. Bye, Brett."   
  
Brett waves, and runs over to my legs. "We gonna haf fun!"   
  
"First, we're gonna have some sleep."  
  
"Fun sweep?"  
  
"We'll see. Bye, Jess."   
  
He waves as he exits. I lead Brett back to my room; she's still got an almost death-grip on Yin, but releases him as we make it to my bed. She crawls on top and jumps. "Fun!"  
  
"Uh-huh, well, we're gonna watch a fun movie! Whaddya say?"  
  
"Yay!" she bounces into a sitting position and then crawls on top of my pillows. She lays on her back and puts her hands behind her head.  
  
"You just kick back," I laugh. She grins her Jess smug smile and obliges.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Lorelai*_   
  
Okay, flowers. One, two, three, four bouquets, twenty centerpieces for tables of five each, arch flowers for the _chuppah,_ provided by Stars Hollow Florists, check.   
  
Music. Ceremony, reception, guitar in the corner in case Luke wants to "spontaneously" serenade me, check.  
  
Photography, place cards, favors, etc., check.  
  
Reception: wedding cake, made by Sookie, catering by Sookie, bar, site, etc., provided free of cost by Dragonfly Inn, check.  
  
Wedding Attire. Oh, God.   
  
"DAMN YOU, _MODERN BRIDE_!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!"  
  
The other four women in the boutique glance at me strangely. A saleslady who walks like she's got a literal stick up her ass waddles over.   
  
"Ex_cuse_ me, Miss, we can't have outbursts like that here! I'm afraid if you yell a fourth time I'm going to have security escort you out."  
  
"But, you don't understand! My wedding's in six days, and I'm stupid fat and my fiancée's gonna divorce me while I come up the aisle if I don't look pretty and as of right now my wedding dress situation is so dire I'm thinking of just wearing my daughter's coffee-cup pajamas and skipping down the aisle!" I throw the damn _Modern Bride_ magazine to the floor as I wrap up my ramble. "Stupid magazine!" I lift my foot to grind it into the floor but the saleslady touches my leg and stops me.   
  
"Miss, I think you'd be better suited going to a therapist instead of traveling down the aisle."  
  
"Look, are you going to sell me a dress or not? At this stage, I'll buy the worst crap you've got."  
  
"I'll see what's in the back."   
  
"Thank you."  
  
The mean lady waddles off, somehow waddling and managing to convey exasperated-ness at the same time.   
  
I lift the magazine from the floor and glance through it again. Ooh...chocolate. I throw the magazine back down. I want chocolate now.   
  
I whine. I _hate_ being pregnant. I especially hate the first stage. Morning sickness, weird cravings, swinging moods, and the beginnings of pre-baby baby fat. It's like having a combination of a hangover and PMS at the same time for three months, except you can't drink coffee and it's not after a fun night of alcohol.   
  
A nice-looking saleslady wanders over; she's wearing the same uniform as the other lady, but she looks relaxed. She smiles to a woman coming from the dressing rooms. The other lady is carrying a bundle of white fabric over one arm, and she's grinning. That's her--that's my saleslady.   
  
I spring to my feet and run across the store. The first saleslady spins around as I fly past her. I ignore her and slam to a stop in front of the nice-looking lady.  
  
"Hi," I say breathlessly.  
  
"Hi." She smiles. "Can I help you?"  
  
"Lorelai. Shopping for a wedding dress." I stick my hand in her face. She shakes it.  
  
"Rosa. Surrounded by hundreds of just what you're looking for."  
  
"Great." I smile, and she leads me off to a corner. I turn around once and stick my tongue out at stick-up-the-ass lady. She looks miffed. I feel happy.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Jess*_   
  
I come home to find Rory's apartment quiet. One of her cats--the white one--wanders to the door and rubs itself against my leg. I rub my hand across its head and continue through the apartment. It's almost painfully quiet--it's _never_ this quiet.   
  
Suddenly there's a scream, and then long strings of giggles. I follow the noise into Rory's guest room, now unofficially Brett's room. Brett's sitting in the middle of the three-quarters full suitcase on the floor, and Rory's cross-legged between the dresser and the suitcase. They're both giggling, and every few seconds, Rory will throw another piece of clothing into the suitcase, causing Brett to giggle more. I smile, and lean against the doorjamb.  
  
"You guys almost ready to go?"  
  
"Hey!" Rory smiles and jumps to her feet. She picks up Brett, settles her on her hip, and walks over to me. She kisses me on the cheek. "Yep, I've just got a few more things."   
  
I reach to take Brett from Rory, but she clings to Rory's shoulder and sticks her tongue out at me. Rory laughs.   
  
"Boys are stinky."   
  
"Yeah, 'tinky." Brett's mispronunciation causes Rory to laugh more, and they walk back over to the suitcase and continue their game. I just stay where I am, watching my girlfriend play with my daughter, and having both of them like it.   
  
"No, Mommy, like this!" Brett demonstrates the right way to throw the clothes at herself, but Rory and I are both frozen. She glances at me, quickly. I nod.  
  
Rory's look of shock disappears and she grins. She closes her dresser drawer and wraps her arms around Brett, squeezing just enough so that when Rory stands, she brings Brett with her. She starts jumping up and down and laughing, and Brett's laughing, and they jump and laugh over to me, and we dissolve into a family-like little hug....  
  
Like a family.


	14. Watch Your Step

Chapter 14: Watch Your Step

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

GLAD HAND: Oh, come on, it'll be fun to dance together.  
CROWD: No, No way, Never, Dance with _them_?  
GLAD HAND: Well...it won't hurt you to try.  
A-RAB: (feigning death) Oh, it hurts! It hurts!  
--"West Side Story"**__**

**_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*_**

_*Jess*_

_"_Mom, Kirk called again about the flowers!" Rory yells, running past me again.   
  
"Tell him to shut up and deliver them already!" Lorelai screams from upstairs.   
  
"He says they're frozen!" Rory runs past me again, this time in the opposite direction. Lorelai lets out an extremely loud frustrated groan, and flies down the stairs. Rory passes her quickly and throws her the phone. Lorelai catches it.  
  
"Kirk! Dammit! What'd I tell you about those flowers?" She runs back upstairs, presumably to finish dressing.   
  
Rory runs past once again, this time addressing me. "Hey, Jess, you should go help Luke with the girls."   
  
"Yep." I nod and get off the couch. Rory runs past me again; I catch her quickly and kiss her forehead. "Bye."   
  
"Bye!" She waves her maid of honor headdress at me. I smile, nod, and leave.   
  
The second I'm out of the house I lean against the wall and breathe deeply. Weddings. I shudder. Frantic women, extremely young flower girls, and a forecast for snow. Anyone can tell this is a recipe for disaster.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Luke*_   
  
"Susanna, sweetie, leave the pillow alone." I tug the silk pillow from my toddler's fingers and lay it on the floor beside me. I turn my attention back to tying her shoe as Brett walks up from behind me and twirls around in her underwear.   
  
"I'm a pwetty pwincess! La, lalalala!" Brett continues twirling.  
  
"Brett, try to put your dress on."  
  
"It's too hahd." Brett practically ignores me and resumes her twirling. I grab her as she twirls past me and try to wrestle her into the impractical outfit Lorelai picked out in a particularly bad bout of pregnant-bad-taste. As I'm doing this, Susanna picks up the silk pillow again and starts waving it around. The rings. The rings are gonna fall out.   
  
I disregard Brett and fly across the room to Susanna, just in time to save the two wedding rings from flying across the room. I take the pillow from her and slip them back into their little pocket, and then triple-tie them onto the pillow. Susanna promptly drops onto the floor and begins to wail; Brett pulls her skirt down and comes dangerously close to ripping the delicate lace.   
  
"Whoa, Uncle Luke, you need some help?" Jess asks, entering the office.   
  
"God, yes!"   
  
Jess nods, picks up Brett and her various accoutrements, and walks over to the desk. I give my attention back to Susanna, and she's finished and the most beautiful two-year-old ever in less than two minutes. Jess has finished dressing up Brett in that same amount of time, and we glance at each other.   
  
"How was Ceasar doing when you went through the diner?"  
  
Jess shrugs. "There weren't many people in there. I think they're all getting dressed for the wedding they've been waiting for for years."   
  
"Shut up," I say roughly.  
  
Jess grins, but stays quiet. After a minute, I ask softly, "How'd she look?"  
  
"Good. She looked good. She really loves you, you know."   
  
"I know."   
  
Jess grins at my embarrassment. "We should get going."  
  
"Okay." I lift Susanna and Jess lifts Brett and we make our way to the diner.   
  
"Ceasar, you can leave now," I call. He nods, and disappears. The diner is empty of customers. I glance around once, smile, and follow Jess out to the car.   
  
~*~  
  
_*Lorelai*_  
  
Rory sticks the last pin in my hair, settling my tiara in the crown of my head. She fluffs my hair around it, and then picks up a can of hairspray.   
  
"Protect the eyes," she commands. I duck my head into my hands, and she sprays a large cloud around my hair. After a second, she stops, sets the can down, and double checks my entire outfit.  
  
"Perfect," she announces quietly. I grin and wrap her in my arms.   
  
"Are you really okay with this?"  
  
"Mom," she laughs. "At this point is there any denying that I'm thrilled with this?" She pulls back slightly and wipes a tear away. "It's so romantic."  
  
"I know." We squeal, and jump up and down quickly. There's a knock on the door, and my dad pushes his head in.   
  
"Lorelai, are you ready?"  
  
"Sure," I laugh, wiping my own tear away. Rory squeezes my gloved hand, picks up her bouquet, and leaves the room. Distantly, I can hear the string quartet my mother hired begin the march.   
  
"I can't believe it's happening already," I say softly, laying my hand on Dad's.   
  
"I'm glad you're happy."  
  
I glance up and smile at Dad. We walk to the edge of the make-shift aisle set up in the middle of the Dragonfly Inn's large conference room.   
  
"I'm so proud of you, Lorelai."   
  
I glance up at Dad once again, slightly shocked. This time, I notice a tear in the corner of his eye. He glances at me, and smiles. I somehow manage to smile back, and the string quartet leads us down the aisle.  
  
Luke looks so wonderful in his tux...I can't believe it's happening now. It seems so soon and so, so, late.   
  
Luke, with his eyes all full of love, takes my hand from Dad's, and I love the romantic-ness of this moment too much to recognize the outdated anti-feminism. Luke grins at me, I grin back, and we face the minister.   
  
~*~  
  
_*Jess*_  
  
Rory's eyes started twinkling the second she and Lorelai arrived at the Dragonfly. She carried Lorelai's tiara all around the Inn practically, before stopping in the room Luke and I were shoved in. She'd stolen me from my uncle and the girls and taken me around the corner, where she giggled and kissed me and giggled again, all the while with twinkling eyes.   
  
The ceremony didn't slow her down, either; the twinkly eyes just became twinkly with happy tears, the entire walk up the aisle and the long ceremony. She's still twinkly eyed half an hour after the ceremony, all through the messy cake-eating that causes Luke to flinch a tad...secretly, though, I know he loves it.   
  
Lorelai disappears quickly to wash her hands; Luke follows her with his own twinkle in his eye, and I dismiss all thoughts of them from my mind immediately.   
  
Rory turns to me and grins.   
  
"It was a nice ceremony, wasn't it?"  
  
"Very nice," I nod.   
  
Rory leans into me, lacing our fingers together. "It's been a long time coming."  
  
"God, it really has." I laugh.  
  
Some Ella Fitzgerald song starts playing, and Brett and Susie are suddenly on the dance floor, holding hands and twirling.  
  
"The girls are good friends."  
  
"Very." I move around a little, causing Rory to sink deeper into my arms. "This is nice," I say after a minute.  
  
"Very," Rory says through a smile. We sit back and watch the dancers.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Lorelai*_  
  
"And now, the bride and groom will share their first dance."   
  
The band launches into the first strains of "Isn't It A Pity?", the song Rory picked out for us, and Luke takes my hand and leads me onto the floor.  
  
_Why did I wander  
Here and there and yonder  
Wasting precious time  
For no reason or rhyme  
  
Isn't it a pity?   
Isn't it a crime?  
  
My journey's ended  
Everything is splendid  
Meeting you today  
Has given me a   
Wonderful idea  
  
  
Here   
  
I   
  
Stay..._  
  
"SHE'S _WHAT_?" my mother's voice screams from a corner of the room. Luke and I stop dancing and I look over. Miss Patty has Emily cornered...the crappy thing is, Patty overheard a conversation a few days ago, and now she knows I'm pregnant.  
  
And now, apparently, so does Mom.  
  
She stalks over to me quickly. The band, by now, has ceased playing, everyone staring at the confrontation in the middle of the dance floor.  
  
"Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, you are once again _pregnant_? Out of wedlock _again_?"  
  
"Not anymore, Mom, I'm married. See the ring?" I hold my hand out to her. She knocks it out of her face.  
  
"You've been married for less than an hour! God, Lorelai, I can't believe you've done this for a third time! Actually, I suppose I can. After all--"   
  
Luke steps in front of me, seething. "Get out," he says quietly, pointing to the door.  
  
"And you, young man. I can't believe you!"  
  
"Emily, get out of here, right now. Leave my wife alone."  
  
Mom glares. Luke continues pointing. I glance around the room and spot Rory. She nods, and simultaneously we run from the room.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Jess*_  
  
I've never seen such a quick way to end a wedding.   
  
Lorelai and Rory disappeared; Richard took Emily outside; I took the girls back to Luke and Lorelai's house; and Luke started clearing the wedding guests out of the Inn.   
  
What a day.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Luke*_  
  
What a day.  
  
I make it home four hours before we're supposed to head off to the airport, yet two hours after the abrupt end of the reception.   
  
Rory and Jess are sprawled on the bed in Rory's room, Susanna and Brett with them, watching a movie. After a thorough search of the house, I glance into the front yard. I spot a bundle of white on the dark porch.   
  
"Lorelai."  
  
I grab coats for the both of us and walk outside. I settle on the step next to my wife and throw wrap the coat around her with one arm, then leave my arm around her shoulder. She leans into my body.  
  
"That was horrible."  
  
"I know," I say soothingly, rubbing her arm.   
  
"_So_ bad." She buries her head in my shirt. "I can't believe that's what my wedding memory will be of. My mother, screaming her head off in the middle of the First Dance."  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"It's not your fault."   
  
I stay silent, and we just sit there for a minute.   
  
"We're married," she says softly.  
  
"I know," I grin.  
  
"Wow," she grins back. "That's cool."  
  
"Very cool."  
  
Suddenly she stands and walks over to the _chuppah_ I made for her wedding to Max years ago, that's become a permanent fixture in the yard. I stand and follow her.  
  
"We should have gotten married under this," she says, rubbing her hand over the goat.  
  
"It's too cold."  
  
"We could have brought it inside. God, I can't believe I didn't think about it!"  
  
"It was for you and Max."  
  
"No, it was never for Max and me. It was from _you_ to me. It was always for the two of us."   
  
I smile and pull her toward me. We stand there, wrapped in each other's arms, for just a second before "Isn't It A Pity?" starts playing.  
  
_Why did I wander  
Here and there and yonder  
Wasting precious time  
For no reason or rhyme  
  
Isn't it a pity?   
Isn't it a crime?  
  
My journey's ended  
Everything is splendid  
Meeting you today  
Has given me a   
Wonderful idea  
  
  
Here   
  
I   
  
Stay..._  
  
"Babette's watching," Lorelai says.   
  
"I know," I say, starting to sway to Ella's voice.  
  
"I like Babette." She grins, and we make slow, swaying circles under the _chuppah_.  
  
_It's a funny thing  
I look at you  
I get a thrill   
I never knew  
  
Isn't it a pity   
we never met before?  
  
Here we are at last  
It's like a dream  
The two of us  
A perfect team  
  
Isn't it a pity  
We never met before?_  
  
"Rory was right...this is our song," Lorelai says.  
  
"Kind of," I agree.  
  
She hits me. "Whaddya mean, 'kind of'? This is our song!"  
  
"Okay," I say, pulling her closer. She snuggles in, and drops it.  
  
_Imagine all the lonely years you wasted  
Fishing for salmon,   
Losing at backgammon  
What joys untasted  
My nights were sour  
Spent with Schopenhaur  
  
Let's forget the past  
Let's both agree  
That I'm for you  
And you're for me  
And it's such a pity we never never met before_  
  
"Is that snow?" Lorelai asks during the musical interlude, glancing at the white powder falling outside the _chuppah_.  
  
"I think so," I grin.   
  
"It's snow! I love snow!" Lorelai jumps once.   
  
"I know."   
  
"This makes the night so much better." She sighs and leans into my chest, and we continue swaying.  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
_It's an awful pity we never never met before._


	15. Epilogue

Epilogue

A/N: This is about two years in the future from the last chapter. Brett's six, and at CNN, Rory's been promoted to an on-air job for four hours of the evening. The first part of this story takes place when she and Brett are home, while Jess is off doing work at the bookstore, where he still works with Alice, but Alice is turning it into a cafe/bookstore, so they're a lot busier.   
  
~*~*~*~

  
_No one's convincing me this isn't paradise._  
--Joan Osbourne  
  
_All the fishes in the sea, they could not be happier than me._  
--Jewel  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
_*Rory*_  
  
_Well, come on and let me know...  
Should I stay or should I go?  
Should I stay or should I go now?  
Should I stay or should I go now?_  
  
A just-celebrated-her-sixth-birthday Brett rushes into the living room, where I'm finishing setting up Jess' surprise.   
  
"Daddy's here, he's here, he's here, he's here, he's _here_!"   
  
"Really? Well, then, let's get ready!"   
  
"Yay!" Brett jumps up and down and claps. I put a hand on her back and gently herd her through the house to the small sitting room upstairs. As planned, we jump onto the couch and hide under the blanket, pretending to sleep. As an afterthought, I rush to the stereo directly behind the couch and turn the volume all the way up, kicking the repeating Clash song from a four to a ten.   
  
Just as I'm settling back into my snug position, the front door slams.   
  
"I'm home," Jess yells. I hear what sounds distinctly like a large bag of books spill onto the wood floor and roll my eyes.   
  
"Rory? Brett?" he asks, finally realizing no one ran to greet him. His voice fades as he walks around downstairs, and then I hear his footsteps on the metal staircase. Brett giggles, and I poke her under the blanket. We both smile at each other, and then close our eyes. I squeeze Brett tight--this is it.  
  
~*~  
  
_*Jess*_  
  
"Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" restarts itself as I walk up the stairs, and I pause for just a second to play along to the opening chords. I resume walking as the singing starts.  
  
_Darlin', you got to let me know  
Should I stay or should I go?  
If you say that you are mine  
I'll be here 'til the end of time  
So, you got to let me know  
Should I stay or should I go?_  
  
The stereo's in the upstairs sitting room, and Rory and Brett are snuggled under a blanket. I'm a little suspicious of the arrangement when I see not Brett's, but Rory's eyelids flutter and a smile grow on her face. I start to walk to the stereo to lower the volume, then stop.   
  
_SHOULD I STAY OR GO?_ a huge poster boasts over the stereo. There's an arrow under "Stay" pointing to a box, and a similar one under "Go". I glance back at Rory and Brett snuggled in the blanket together, and make my way to the "Stay" box.   
  
It's a shoebox--normal enough, but inside are three red velvet jewelry boxes. I open the first one, a long, thick one. A Brett-size tiara stares me in my face. The second one, a..._ring_-sized one, holds...a ring. A small, simple, feminine, white-gold...wedding band. My mind warming a bit to the idea, I open the third box, revealing an almost identical wedding band, this one thicker and more my size. A slight grin on my face, I turn around to face the couch.   
  
Rory and Brett are "awake" now, hanging over the back of the couch and grinning.   
  
"So, whaddya say?" Rory grins. Brett clasps both hands over her mouth and giggles. I grin.   
  
"What do you _want_ me to say?"   
  
Rory thinks for a second. " 'I thought you'd never ask.' "  
  
I nod, walk over to the couch, and crouch so that I'm face to face with Rory. "I thought you'd never ask," I whisper, before kissing her.   
  
~*~*~  
  
_*Brett*_  
  
Yesterday I was six and a half _exactly_. And I got to celebrate with a pretty dress, a prettier crown, and flowers to throw. I had lotsa fun.  
  
My daddy married this lady named Rory, who's really really really really nice, and I sometimes call her Mommy, and that makes her smile.   
  
The _best_ part about my daddy marrying Rory was that we went up to Connet-- Connit-- Connecut-- Stars Hollow, where Uncle Luke and Aunt Lora-- Lore-- Lor live. And Susie and Will live there too. I like Susie. She's fun. Will's just a baby, so I don't really know him.   
  
Rory's best friend Lane came to the marrying-party, too. Lane brought her baby Kurt, who's not _really_ a baby 'cause he's two. Kurt's daddy, Dave, came too, and they all played songs. Except for Kurt, 'cause he's too little.   
  
Daddy's mommy and daddy came and gave me presents. Daddy's mommy had a marrying-party a little while ago to a nice boy named Ted, and Ted came too. He didn't give me a present, but he was still nice. He told me I was the best flower girl he'd ever, ever seen.   
  
Grampa came with Sasha and Lilly. Lilly's...Lilly's...doesn't talk to me a lot, but she can be very nice. Sasha's always nice, and she gave me Grampa's present. Grampa hugged me and told me that I had the best family in the world.   
  
Daddy and Mommy kissed a lot yesterday. It was gross. But they smiled a lot, too. That was good, 'cause I didn't get in trouble for breaking that vase of flowers. It _was_ an accident, no matter what Susie says.   
  
The marrying-party lasted a long time. I didn't get to see the end of it, 'cause I fell asleep. I didn't mean to, though. But I did. And then Mommy and Daddy woke me up. They told me goodbye and cried a lot, and then they both kissed me. Then they got on a airplane and went a long, long way away. Daddy said they went over the big pond, but Mommy hit him when he said that. Then she said they were going to Is--Is--Israil, where she was gonna get to be on TV and talk about fighting. It's not good to fight--I learned that in school.   
  
If Mommy does a good job being on TV, then that means she'll get to be on TV all the time. Then, Daddy says we'll have to choose. We can stay in Atalanta and only see her some of the time, or we can fly around with her, but we'll have to get a teacher to teach me things.   
  
I don't know what we're gonna do. I like Atalanta, but it'll be fun to fly.  
  
I'll just have to wait an' see what happens.


End file.
